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The  American  Jewish  pulpit 

A  collection  of  sermons  by 

the  most  eminent  American 


THE 


AMERICAN 


JEWISH  PULPIT, 


A  COLLECTION  OF  SERMONS 


MOST  EMINENT  AMERICAN  RABBIS. 


CINCINNATI: 
BLOCH  &  CO.,  PUBLISHERS  AND  PRINTERS. 

1881. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  of  1881,  by 

BLOCII  &  CO., 

in  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

Arise    and    Give    Light;    or,  Judaism  and  the  Jewish  Pulpit, 

Rev.  Dr.  K.  Kohler.  1 

Passover     Rev.  S.  Morais.  11 

New  Year Rev.  George  Jacobs.  17 

Israel,  a  Missionary  People Rev.  Dr.  H.  Vidaver.  25 

Simchath  Torah  ..." Rev.  Dr.  M,  Jastrow.  3] 

A  FewThoughts  About  the  Day  of  Rest, 

PtEY.  Dr.  S.  H.  Sonneschein.  41 

Thrice  Holy  is  the  Lord Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  Szold.  5] 

Spirituality  of  God's  Law Rev.  I.  L.  Leucht.  59 

Jewish  Ideas  Conquer  the  World,  a  Shabuoth  Sermon, 

Rev.  Dr.  B.  Felsenthal.  07 

The  Offering  of  Isaac Rev.  Dr.  Max  Landsberg.  77 

Moses  Spake  Truly Rev.  Prof.  Abraham  DeSola.  85 

Spiritual  Manhood Rev.  Dr.  Max  Sampield.  95 

The  Immortality  of  the  Soul Rev.  Dr.  James  K.  Gutheim.  105 

Sermon  at  the  Dedication  of  a  New  Sefer  Thorah, 

Rev.  Dr.  M.  Schlesinger.  115 

Sermon  at  the  Dedication  of  a  New  Burial  Ground,' 

Rev.  Dr.  M.  Schlesinger.  121 

Rosh  Hashanah Isaac  M-  Wise.  127 

The  Crossing  of  the  Jordan Rev.  Dr.  E.  G.  LIirsch.  139 

Religion  or  no  Religion,  Yom  Kippur  Sermon, 

Rev.  Dr.  Max  Lilienthal.  155 

The  Festival  of  the  Spring Rev.  Isaac  S.  Moses.  173 

Hanukah  Sermon Isaac  M.  Wise.  185 

Israel's  Influence  on  Civilization Rev.  Dr.  Falk  Vidaver.  191 

Hebrew  Monotheism,                                  1  199 

The  Main  Lesson  of  Israel's  Sanctuary,   I  209 

_,     -,       .,      ,  T  ,                                            r  Rev.  Dr.  1.  M.  Wise.  „iq 

The  I  ourth  of  July,  zlJ 

The  Word  of  God,                                        J  227 

Shebouth Rev.  Dr.  D.  Einhorn.  235 

(Translated  from  Dr.  David  Einhorn's  "  Ausgewaehlte  Predigten  und 

Reden,"  by  permission  of  Dr.  K.  Kohler.) 


ARISE  AND  GIVE  LIGHT, 

OK, 

JUDAISM  AND  THE  JEWISH  PULPIT. 


BY    REV.    DR.    K.     KOHLER, 

(Of  Temple  Beth-El,  Xeiv  York.) 


Text:— Isaiah  ii.  5  and  lx.  1. 

Light  is  the  emblem  of  Judaism.  Among  all  the  sacred 
pieces  of  the  tabernacle  the  greatest  prominence  is  given  in 
the  law  to  the  golden  seven-armed  candlestick.  To  keep  its 
lights  in  purest  order  and  brightness  is  one  of  the  chief  du- 
ties of  the  priesthood,  suggestive,  no  doubt,  of  the  diffusion 
of  knowledge  of  God  incumbent  on  the  guardian  of  the 
sanctuary.  Indeed,  Heathendom  in  general  marked  religion 
by  the  glare  of  fire,  by  the  sacrificial  blaze  and  smoke  whirl- 
ing up  to  heaven.  To  Christendom,  too,  religion  is  a  hazy 
mysticism,  a  blind  belief  rather  than  an  enlightening  and 
convincing  truth.  And  ask  the  modern  pagan,  the  atheistic 
moralist,  after  the  nature  of  that  feeling  which  prompts  man 
to  kneel  before  a  Supreme  Being,  and  he  will  respond  in 
similar  strains  :  This  is  all  emotion  and  pathos,  a  fire  within, 
a  steam  engine  to  impel  the  soul  to  a  right  conduct,  yet 
wrongly  applied  to  our  thinking  faculty.  The  Jewish  religion, 
on  the  contrary,  presents  itself  as  a  light  to  brighten  up  the 
path  of  man  and  as  a  convincing  truth  to  guide  him.  It 
desires  him  to  walk  in  the  clear  daylight  of  reason,  not  in 
the  dim  twilight  of  a  misty  faith.  What  the  sun  is  to  the 
earth,  God  is  to  spiritual  man,  the  central  source  of  all  light, 
life  and  progress,  whether  moral  or  intellectual.     Of  course, 


—  2  — 

when  first  rising  over  a  world  wrapped  in  the  night  of  idolatry 
and  vice,  the  sun  of  Sinai  beamed  forth,  all  draped  in  crim- 
son, like  the  fiery  orb  on  the  sky,  to  consume  the  host  of 
darkness ;  but  as  it  progressed  on  its  triumphant  march,  it 
bathed  the  wide  globe  in  its  radiant  splendor.  Like  light, 
truth  wants  to  spread;  so  does  Judaism.  Far,  however, 
from  enforcing  its  world-redeeming  doctrines  on  the  sur- 
rounding world,  it  casts  its  seeds  of  heavenly  blessing  abroad, 
waiting  for  their  gradual  growth  in  the  hearts  of  men.  Fol- 
lowing the  divine  call :  "Arise  and  give  light !"  it  yearns  for 
the  day  when  all  nations  shall  say :  "  Oh,  house  of  Jacob, 
come,  let  us  walk  in  the  light  of  God  !"  It  holds  forth  its 
great  truths,  saying  :  "  Let  there  be  light !"  Let  the  light  of 
God  be  on  nature,  on  man  and  on  human  history,  that  His  ma- 
jesty may  fill  heaven  and  earth  !  This  is  its  glorious  calling 
and  particularly  the  privilege  of  the  Jewish  pulpit.  Let  me 
dwell  on  these  three  points  to-day. 

God  in  nature!  This  is  the  first  stream  of  light  emanating 
from  Jewish  revelation.  The  much-admired  wisdom  of  to- 
day, that  philosophy  called  positive,  because  it  denies  all  that 
can  not  be  grasped  by  the  senses  or  measured  and  weighed 
by  chemical  analysis,  wants  to  confine  religion  to  the  duty  of 
man  toward  man,  leaving  God  and  soul  as  insoluble  prob- 
lems out  of  sight.  But  pray,  can  we,  indeed,  shut  our  eyes 
to  all  the  beauties  of  light  reflected  in  myriads  of  shades  and 
colors  on  the  bold  rocks  and  the  luxuriant  meadows  beneath, 
on  the  wings  of  the  butterfly  and  on  the  nocturnal  sky?  Can 
we  cease  wondering  at  the  peals  of  thunder  and  at  the  melo- 
dious notes  of  yon  sweet  warblers  reaching  our  ear  out  of 
creation's  grand  chorus?  Can  we  help  asking  who  has 
vaulted  this  blue  dome  studded  with  so  many  silver  and 
golden  groups  of  stars?  Who  has  dug  these  mighty  water 
basins  and  set  those  huge  rocks  against  them  as  dams  ?  Shall 
we  no  longer  with  Job  inquire  after  the  wisdom  of  the  rain- 
drop and  the  treasures  of  the  snow?  Behold,  the  universe 
reveals  us  the  King  of  Glory  !  Who  does  not  crave  after  a 
glimpse  of  the  hem  of  His  garment?  The  melodious  har- 
monies of  endless  worlds  fall  upon  our  ears.     Who  does  not 


long  to  catch  a  tunc  of  these  wondrous  symphonies?  To 
perceive  this  majestic  order  of  wisdom  and  beauty  is  to  revere 
and  to  adore,  not  the  blind  cosmos,  nor  the  primordial  matter 
but  the  Sublime  Mind  who  arranged  all  this  with  a  spirit 
akin,  though  infinitely  superior,  to  ours.  Be  not  deceived  by 
the  idiotic  assertion:  This  is  all  nature's  action,  the  work 
of  law.  For  what  is  law  but  divine  wisdom's  rule?  Through 
Jewish  monotheism  alone  the  mighty  empire  of  law  has  been 
established  throughout  the  universe.  Heathenism  saw  but 
force  and  chance  everywhere.  Even  the  God  conceived  of  by 
its  philosophers  of  India  and  Greece  lacked  self-consciousness 
and  freedom,  forming  only  the  uppermost  scale  in  the  range 
of  beings.  Only  a  God,  at  whose  bidding  nature  rushed 
into  life,  could  set  boundaries  to  the  sea  and  the  snow-flake, 
fixing  for  man  and  star  their  course  according  to  one  har- 
monious plan.  Only  the  Jewish  idea  of  God  is  compatible 
with  reason  and  science,  and,  while  it  illuminates  the  majestic 
temple  of  nature,  it  also  casts  its  rays  on  the  holy  of  holiesr 
where  in  darkness  and  awe  faith  alone  spreads  its  Cherub 
wings  to  bear  witness  of  God's  presence. 

There  is  no  more  than  one  truth  in  heaven  and  earth,  for 
heart  and  brain.  This  conviction  led  the  rabbis  of  the  Tal- 
mud and  the  Jewish  philosophers  of  Alexandria,  Persia  and 
Spain  ever  to  blend  reason  and  faith,  to  harmonize  the  bib- 
lical miracle  stories  with  the  unchangeable  laws  of  creation. 
And  we  to-day  dare  break  away  from  the  holy  ground  of 
revelation,  because  our  insight  into  the  world's  process  of 
formation  and  order  of  beings  has  grown  deeper  and  clearer 
ever  since.  Ought  we  not  rather  to  sing  the  psalms  of  David 
tuned  to  more  majestic  organ-peals?  Ought  we  not  to  read 
the  grand  poetry  of  Job  and  the  sublime  prose  of  Genesis 
with  greater  rapture,  as,  bewildered  by  the  great  spectacle  of 
wheels  within  wheels  and  lives  upon  lives  strewn  along  the 
infinities  of  time  and  space,  the  soul  conies  back  with  a  cry 
for  the  Father  whose  footsteps  it  traced  everywhere,  but 
whose  face  it  failed  to  see?  Yes,  we  welcome  the  light  cast  on 
God's  creation  by  modern  research.  Religion,  being  itself  light, 
can  as  little  be  consumed  by  any  light  of  knowledge  as,  to  use  a 


—  4  — 

rabbinical  metaphor,  the  fiery  salamander  can  by  fire.  Let  the 
shallow-pated  be  dazzled  by  the  torch  of  science !  Let  the 
fool  curse  the  sun,  because  the  feeble-eyed  can  not  stand  its 
sight !  Shall  God  withhold  the  light  of  clay,  because  some  wor- 
ship it  as  their  god?  No.  Reason,  our  armor  and  our  lantern 
on  our  victorious  campaign  against  old  heathenism,  will  also 
force  modern  paganism  to  surrender  at  last.  Superficiality 
of  knowledge  leads  to  atheism,  says  the  English  thinker ; 
true  enlightenment  ushers  man  into  the  presence  of  God,  the 
fountain-head  of  all  light  and  wisdom.  Now,  it  is,  as  it  ever 
was,  the  privilege  of  the  Jewish  pulpit  to  let  this  sacred 
truth  shine  forth  in  all  its  captivating  luster,  not  as  buried 
in  old  venerable  books,  but  as  bright  and  fresh  as  the  crystal 
water  flowing  forth  from  the  rock.  Forsooth,  we  can  not 
live  in  air  stored  up  deep  down  in  the  earth  by  ages  past, 
nor  by  the  sunshine  closeted  in  coal  beds  thousands  of 
years  ago.  We  want  the  healthy  air  and  cheering  sunlight 
of  the  day.  How  can  we  expect  that  a  religion  made  ours 
only  by  the  chance  of  birth  and  education  will  offer  us  real 
comfort  and  hope,  unless  it  be  the  very  substance  and  mar- 
row of  our  own  feelings  and  thoughts  and  aspirations?  If 
we  are  to  take  shelter  under  Israel's  Rock  of  Ages,  commit- 
ting to  Him  all  our  cares  and  burdens,  we  must  realize,  that 
He  who  spoke  to  Moses  and  Elijah  through  the  fire  and  fed 
and  clothed  our  fathers  in  the  wilderness  is  still  with  us  to- 
day, revealing  himself  in  the  wonders  of  creation,  providing 
all  our  wants,  guiding  us  through  all  perplexities  and  respond- 
ing from  on  high  to  all  our  cries  from  the  deep.  Doubt  and 
error  must  flee  before  the  presence  of  the  benign  Ruler,  on 
whose  bosom  the  soul  may  expect  to  find  rest  and  peace. 
Religion  must  be,  like  nature,  an  actual  revelation  of  God, 
ever  true  and  fresh,  striking  and  enrapturing.  Hence  it  fol- 
lows that,  in  order  to  inspire,  the  preacher  of  God's  word 
must  be  inspired.  He  must  keep  within  the  full  sweep  of 
the  ruling  ideas  of  the  age,  and  with  eyes  wide  open  to  the 
views  and  achievements  of  the  surrounding  world,  imbibe 
the  invigorating  mountain  air  of  freedom  and  still  feel  within 
his  breast  the  electric  current  of  the  past,  the  warm  pulse  of 


history  running  through  all  the  centuries.  He  must,  in  order 
to  offer  religion  as  a  living  power,  ever  try  to  keep  pace  with 
the  rapid  progress  of  the  time  ami  yet  burn  with  unabated 
zeal  and  reverence  for  the  undying  teachings  of  the  Jewish 
seers  and  rabbis  of  yore,  on  which  the  souls  of  his  hearers 
are  to  be  fed,  their  hearts  inflamed,  their  minds  enlightened. 
A  glorious  task,  indeed,  yet  how  difficult,  how  much  beset 
wTith  obstacles  and  dangers  !  How  impossible  without  sin- 
cere humility  and  prayer  for  God's  gracious  help  ! 

II. 

And  the  second  flood  of  light  streaming  forth  from  Judaism 
to  lighten  up  the  dark  recesses  of  the  heart  and  the  various 
avenues  of  the  brain  is  the  revelation  of  God  in  man.  God 
is  the  Father,  man  the  son ;  God  the  sun  of  truth  and  right- 
eousness, man's  soul  a  spark  of  His  rays.  God  the  fountain 
and  ideal  of  all  that  is,  man  the  image  and  outflow.  This  is 
the  basis  of  all  ethics,  the  master-key  to  all  philosophy. 
Science  may  succeed  in  explaining  some  part  or  other ;  this 
explains  the  whole  of  man.  Many  a  noble  trait  and  faculty 
was,  no  doubt,  roused  and  cultivated  in  man  by  this  and 
that  religion ;  Judaism  alone  accorded  to  him  his  full  dig- 
nity by  placing  him  in  the  center  of  creation  and  investing 
him  with  the  scepter  and  mantle  of  royalty,  with  the  nobility 
of  heaven-born  freedom  and  immortality.  It  beholds  in  the 
human  soul  a  lamp,  in  which  God's  light  shines,  fed  on  earthly 
life,  but  radiating  now  His  infinite  wisdom  and  then  glowing 
as  a  live  coal  from  the  divine  empyrean  of  love.  Language 
and  art,  religion  and  morals,  philosophy  and  science,  only 
reflect  the  bright  central  orb  hidden  to  mortal  eye^.  And 
the  contrast  of  truth  and  error,  of  right  and  wrong,  of  beauty 
and  ugliness,  of  happiness  and  misery,  shows  merely  the 
polarization  of  light,  the  prismatic  shades  of  the  divine, 
the  battle  within  us  between  earth  and  heaven,  between 
God  and  the  brute.  All  the  black  spots  and  shortcom- 
ings we  see  are  only  in  our  own  eyes ;  for  we  stand  on  a 
small  island  and  still  feel  that  ours  is  the  shoreless  ocean. 


—  6  — 

Our  foot  rests  on  earth  and  vet  we  feel  drawn  up  toward 
the  center  of  numberless  worlds.  And  what  is  the  most 
precious  jewel  in  the  diadem  of  our  law.  all  men  are 
children  of  light ;  none  is  doomed  to  everlasting  darknes  s 
Of  course,  the  heart  ever  mirrors  the  world  above,  as  the  lake 
does  the  sky  overarching  it.  A  world  divided  between  good 
and  evil  powers  rends  the  human  soul  in  twain;  a  par- 
tial and  local  God  rendered  humanity  also  partial  and  local. 
Humanity  as  a  unit  was  cradled  only  in  the  confines  of 
Judea.  The  light  which  rose  in  Abraham  reflected  new  glory 
on  the  whole  human  race.  All  the  differences  between  a 
Noah  and  an  Abraham,  between  a  Balaam  and  a  Moses,  be- 
tween a  Buddha  and  an  Isaiah,  between  Gentile  and  Jew, 
or  between  a  Negro  and  a  Caucasian,  are  merged  in  the  name 
Man.  To  strive  for  the  good  and  the  right,  to  subdue  the 
beast  and  let  the  spirit  of  God  rise,  is  to  win  the  prize  of 
eternity;  and  each  human  struggle  for  independence  and 
greatness,  the  life  and  property,  the  household,  the  honor  and 
happiness  of  each  member  of  society,  is  marked  as  holy  unto 
God  by  the  seal  of  religion. 

Now.  friends,  is  there  any  truth  by  which  this  Sinaitic  doc- 
trine about  man  can  be  superseded  and  obscured?  As  well 
may  the  bright  sun  some  day  be  eclipsed  by  any  new  light 
of  human  invention.  No,  never  will  man  be  robbed  of  his 
crown  of  divine  nobility;  never  will  he  allow  himself  to  be 
ranked  among  baboons  and  chimpanzees.  Darwinism,  so  far 
as  it  renders  the  world  an  interaction  of  mere  mechanic 
forces,  tends,  like  socialism,  its  twin  brother,  to  glorify  the 
struggle  not  for  right,  which  is  celestial,  but  for  might,  which 
is  brutal.  Amid  the  all-leveling  tendencies  of  our  age  self 
has  become  the  watchword.  It  means  rebellion  against  God 
and  the  world.  It  drives  the  conceited  thinker  into  pestifer- 
ous atheism,  the  reckless,  discontented  citizen  into  ruinous 
Nihilism,  and  the  disappointed  lover  and  money  speculator 
into  a  suicide's  grave.  Is  there  any  remedy  in  a  system  of 
morals  which  either  drowns  the  individual  in  the  State  or 
an  international  laboratory,  or  launches  him  out  into  the 
foggy  sea  of  an  aimless,  God-forsaken  world?     Only  a  religion 


which  regards  man  not  as  a  mere  wheel  in  the  mill,  nor  as  a 
passing  wave  in  the  ocean,  but  as  a  child  and  co-laborer  of 
God ;  only  a  theistic  system  of  ethics  which  works  with  the 
frown  and  smile  of  the  Eternal,  with  the  threats  and  promises 
of  a  divine  justice  on  the  springs  and  motives  of  the  human 
will ;  only  the  Sinaitic  revelation  will  guide  and  save  man- 
kind from  shipwreck  and  misery. 

And  of  this  the  Jewish  pulpit  must  be  the  shining  reflector, 
a  beacon  to  the  storm-tossed,  to  rescue  the  one  from  the 
whirlpool  of  a  deceptive  science  and  the  other  from  the  dan- 
gerous cliff  of  exclusive  church  dogmatism.  In  order  to 
prove  a  stanch  defender  of  man's  greatness,  the  modern 
Jewish  preacher  must,  while  comparing  the  spirit  of  past 
ages  with  that  of  our  own,  point  out  ever  anew  the  match- 
less luster  of  Jewish  morals,  their  constant  progress  with 
and  their  controlling  influence  on  civilization.  Above  all, 
he  must  recognize  and  show,  that  "HX  mini  im'O  1J  the  religious 
forms  and  statutes  are  but  the  frail  lamp  of  the  age,  made  to 
nourish  the  light  of  all  ages  in  the  human  breast.  And  in- 
stead of  yoking  people  to  a  ritualism  and  ceremonialism 
which  have  lost  hold  on  their  minds,  he  must,  like  the 
prophets  of  old,  emphasize  the  eternal  moral  laws,  the  rules 
of  conduct  written  with  the  divine  finger  on  the  tablets  of 
the  human  heart  as  the  kernel  and  essence  of  revelation.  He 
must  herald  the  true  religion  of  humanity.  And,  indeed,  it 
requires  all  the  earnestness  and  unbending  firmness  of  the 
holy  seers  of  old,  the  boldness  and  uncompromising  zeal  of 
an  Elijah  and  Isaiah,  to  be  in  these  days  a  builder-up 
of  characters,  a  teacher  and  monitor  of  virtue  and  holiness, 
a  restorer  of  the  old  paths  of  integrity  and  righteousness,  in 
an  age  addicted  to  greed  and  passion  to  become  a  repairer  of 
breaks,  a  regainer  of  souls  for  God  and  His  truth  ! 


III. 

And  last,  but  not  least,  is  the  ray  of  light  shed  by  Judaism 
on  the  path  of  human  history.  The  idea  of  progress,  though 
modern  in  its  phrase,  is  of  Jewish  extraction.     As  the  rabbis 


—  8  — 


say,  the  Creator's  word,  "Let  there  be  light !"  pointed  to  the 
great  Messianic  aim  and  ideal.  It  suggested  an  ever-rising 
day  of  truth  and  justice.  Of  course,  Heathendom,  unaware 
of  a  great  Designer  and  a  harmonious  plan  of  the  world, 
could  not  well  look  for  a  great  common  end  in  the  future.  A 
world  grown  by  chance  must  needs  fall  a  prey  again  to 
chance.  Without  a  God  as  its  Ruler  the  beautiful  cosmos 
necessarily  ends  in  eternal  night  and  chaos  whence  it  came, 
in  dismal  Nirwana.  Only  the  Jewish  prophets,  watching 
amid  the  downfall  of  nations  the  steady  rise  of  Israel's  glori- 
ous heritage,  the  knowledge  of  the  one  and  holy  God,  detected 
the  standard  with  which  the  world's  moral  and  intellectual 
progress  was  to  be  measured.  Before  their  eyes  there  loomed 
up  the  kingdom  of  the  God  of  righteousness  and  love,  to 
which  all  lands  and  ages  were  to  contribute  their  share  while 
toiling  and  working  for  the  beautiful,  the  good  and  the  true. 
In  Mount  Zion  they  beheld  the  lofty  goal  of  humanity,  on 
the  altar  of  which  all  nations  offered  their  manifold  gifts  as 
a  token  of  homage  to  God,  their  common  King  and  Father, 
while  Israel,  the  first-born,  was  to  serve  as  the  temple's  guar- 
dian, the  bearer  of  the  promise,  as  witness  of  God's  covenant 
with  the  entire  human  family.  True,  this  inspiring  hope  of 
a  Messianic  kingdom  did  in  the  garb  of  national  expecta- 
tions, under  the  disguise  of  personal  and  sectarian  dreams 
and  visions,  bring  many  sad  disappointments  and  sorrows 
upon  mankind,  and  particularly  on  Israel,  its  heaven-sent 
apostle,  its  heroic  priest  and  martyr.  Nevertheless,  in  creat- 
ing world-conquering  religions,  it  scattered  the  seeds  of  truth 
abroad.  It  established  great  centers  of  light  to  unite  the 
race.  And  when  this  light  had  in  the  hands  of  Christianity 
grown  into  a  scorching  hell-fire  to  consign  the  larger  majority 
of  the  world  to  eternal  doom,  the  Jewish  people,  at  the  price 
of  their  own  precious  blood,  held  aloft  the  light  of  divine  sal- 
vation as  a  promise  for  undivided  mankind,  securing  eternal 
salvation  to  all  righteous  and  good  of  whatever  race  or  re- 
ligion. Nor  have  they  worked  and  waited  in  vain.  Behold, 
the  church  walls  of  intolerant  fanaticism  are  tottering  and 
sinking  to-day.     Insults  offered  to  Jews  or  to  any  other  sect 


—  9  — 

or  race  are  resented  by  the  governments,  the  pulpit  and  the 
press  of  the  whole  civilized  world.  The  common  brother- 
hood of  man  is  established.  By  bonds  of  iron  and  steel,  by 
the  interests  of  commerce  and  industry,  by  material  and  in- 
tellectual pursuits,  the  wide  world  is  rendered  one.  Words 
of  peace  and  concord  are  with  lightning's  speed  flashed  from 
one  continent  to  another.  But  then  has  human  civilization 
not  reached  its  pinnacle?  Has  not  the  day  of  reason  come? 
What  is  the  use  of  still  carrying  the  lantern  about,  needed 
only  during  the  night  which  lies  behind?  Thus  the  short- 
sighted crowd  shouts  forth,  taking  the  dawn  of  the  new  era 
for  the  midday.  Brethren,  the  struggle  is  not  ended  yet ;  our 
mission  as  watchmen  of  human  civilization  is  by  far  not  ful- 
filled. Darkness  still  prevails  round  about  us.  Selfishness 
casts  its  large  earthly  shadow  upon  the  sun  of  life,  interfering 
between  man  and  man,  between  nation  and  nation,  between 
heart  and  brain,  between  time  and  eternity.  God,  the  true 
bond  of  union,  is  not  felt.  Universal  brotherhood,  morality 
and  humanity  still  lack  the  center  and  soul,  the  recognition 
of  God's  fatherhood. 

Israelites,  we  stand  for  true  cosmopolitan  humanity  to- 
day as  we  ever  did!  Are  you  ashamed  of  the  name  Jew? 
It  means  the  guardianship  of  mankind's  highest  truths.  Let 
prejudice  never  so  fiercely  scorn  and  blast  it !  Let  apostasy  and 
skepticism  never  so  haughtily  belittle  it !  Our  storm-beaten 
but  never-surrendered  flag  stands  for  further  rise  and  progress. 
Our  national  priesthood,  our  Sabbath  and  historical  festival 
days  remain  a  pledge  of  that  covenant  of  light  and  bliss 
which,  including  all  sects  and  races,  renders  the  whole  earth 
a  mountain  of  God  shining  in  heaven's  everlasting  splendor. 
Oh,  how  holy,  how  grand  and  important  is  the  task  of  the 
Jewish  minister  in  this  materialistic  age  of  ours  to  hold  this 
lofty  mission  of  the  Jewish  people  forth  as  a  lamp  unto  their 
feet  and  as  a  light  unto  their  path  !  But  it  requires  pure  and 
sacred  oil  to  keep  the  golden  luminary  burning  in  the  sanc- 
tuary. The  oil  is  not  wanting ;  it  streams  forth,  as  from  a 
wondrous  fountain,  without  ceasing,  but  the  vessels  are  miss- 
ing to  receive  it.     The  young  fail  to  offer  their  heart  to  be 


—  10  — 

filled  with  the  divine  blessing.     Like  Rachel  of  old,  the  Jew- 
ish religion  to-day  cries  forth  :  "  Give  me  children  or  else  I 
die!"     The  Jewish  pulpit  must   by  all   feasible   ways   and 
means  be  brought  within  the  reach  of  the  rising  generation 
and  rendered  an  attractive  source  of  instruction  and  enlight- 
enment, awakening  thirst  for  Jewish  knowledge  in  all,  young 
or  old,  rich  or  poor,  and  kindling  ardent  love  and  zeal  for  our 
great   history   and   mission.     It   must   become   a   magnetic 
power  of  centralization  and  spiritual  elevation  to  render  all 
our  sons  and  daughters  enthusiastic  defenders  and  upholders 
of  our  time-honored  heritage,  true  teachers  and  sincere  prac- 
tices of  our  religion,  a  people  of  priests  and  prophets.     As 
the  sun,  in  shining  upon  mount  and  vale,  land  and  sea,  ren- 
ders tree   and  flower,    stone  and   water-drop    many-colored 
bearers   and  .reflectors   of  its  light,  so  the   word   of  divine 
revelation  says  to  each  and  every  one  :  "Arise  and  give  light, 
for  thy  light  hath  come  and  the  glory  of  Gocl  shineth  over 
thee  !"     Would  to  God  that  His  help  and  grace  be  with  my 
work  in  your  midst,  that  I  may  succeed  in  following  this  ideal 
to   become  a  bearer  of  light  and  truth,   a  true   priest   with 
lips  overflowing  with  blessing  for  you  each  and  all,  for  Israel 
and  humanity.     Amen. 


AN  ADDRESS  DELIVERED  ON  PASSOVER. 


BY  REV.  S.  MORAIS. 


Children  of  the  Patriarchs  : — Before  we  part  on  this 
anniversary  day  of  Israel's  nativity,  let  us  infuse  into  each 
other  the  warmth  of  brotherly  affection,  and  add  to  the  re- 
ligious fervor  which  our  joint  thanksgivings  have  aroused. 
*  *  *  A  short  time  ago  I  read  a  description  that  enchained 
my  attention  against  my  will.  In  the  Church  of  the  Vatican 
the  late  Pope,  clothed  in  a  robe  which  rivaled  driven  snow 
in  whiteness,  crowned  with  a  triple  mitre,  on  which  gems 
resplenclently  shone,  had  mounted  up  the  height  of  a  window 
whence  he  might  be  seen  by  an  anxious  throng  below.  His 
arms  were  extended  as  if  eager  to  hold  in  a  single  embrace 
the  Catholic  world.  All  knelt,  with  upraised  countenances 
to  drink  in  a  blessing  dealt  out  at  Rome,  to  be  carried  to  dis- 
tant lands  till  it  reached  the  torrid  zones  and  the  tropics,  for 
pilgrims  of  every  clime  were  there.  They  had  come  from 
Abyssinia  and  from  Hayti.  They  had  arrived  from  where  the 
sun  "  goeth  forth  *  *  *  rejoicing  like  a  hero  to  run  a  race," 
and  from  the  spot  where  it  hides  itse]f  as  in  a  pavillion.  Mis- 
sionaries and  propagandists  were  there.  They  would  catch 
a  word,  a  look  of  "  God's  vicegerent,"  as  a  talisman  to  papal 
devotees.  Chiming  bells  greeted  the  scene,  organs  discoursed 
intoxicating  music,  and  nature,  awakened  from  her  winter 
sleep,  smiled  upon  that  gathering  with  the  radiant  smile  which 
spring  gives  the  serene  sky  of  Italy.  For  it  was  on  Easter 
Sunday  that  a  stranger  gazed  upon  that  scene,  conjuring  up 
fancies  of  a  universal  faith  supremely  loved. 

Not  far  from  the  Vatican,  men  who  had  not  bent  to  receive 
the  apostolic  benediction,  issued  on  that  Easter  Sunday  from 


—  12  — 

the  dens  into  which  ages  of  proscription  had  consigned  them- 
Toward  those  inhabitants  of  Rome  curses  had  been  hurled; 
yet,  they  appeared  joyful  when,  dressed  in  holiday  garments  ^ 
they  entered  a  dingy  hall.  Had  the  traveler  followed  their 
steps  and  mingled  in  their  assemblies  he  would  have  heard 
weird  songs  in  an  Oriental  language,  hymns  that  flowed  from 
throbbing  hearts  which  oppression  can  not  crush.  He  would 
have  seen  none  of  the  pageantry  displayed  amid  a  pantheon 
of  heathen  images  chiseled  in  marble,  or  drawn  on  canvas  and 
canonized  as  saints.  He  would  have  beheld  but  two  unpretend- 
ing tablets,  the  writing  of  which  had  served  a  hapless  people  as 
spiritual  manna  through  a  wilderness  of  misery.  That  morn- 
ing those  sons  of  Rome,  still  under  Pontifical  dominion,  cele- 
brated the  birthday  of  their  religious  existence — an  existence 
older  than  St.  Peter,  more  ancient  than  the  seven-hilled  city. 
They  solemnized  the  Passover  instituted  in  Egypt  on  a  night 
of  a  divinely-wrought  redemption.  Priesthood  vested  in  the 
stock  of  Aaron  had  died,  but  Judaism  lived.  The  Palestinian 
Vatican — Zion  Hill  and  its  turreted  temple — had  sunk  beneath 
a  heap  of  ruin ;  but  the  people  of  Judea  stood  erect  in  their 
manhood,  to  worship  the  same  God  who  avenged  their  cause, 
to  keep  the  same  Law  which  had  bid  their  fathers  hold  in 
sacred  memory  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  "  at  its  season 
from  year  to  year." 

The  traveler  might  then  have  flung  aside  the  spell  laid  on 
his  senses  by  the  glitter  of  pomp  and  the  parade  of  number. 
His  eyes  would  have  discovered  a  stirring,  a  restless  vitality 
in  the  few  who  prayed  in  the  gloomy  ghetto,  and  decay  in 
the  church  surrounded  by  colonnades  of  porphyry  and  colossal 
figures  of  gilded  bronze ;  aye,  he  would  have  detected  a 
skeleton  attired  in  an  attractive  garb.  The  flesh  and  bones 
and  sinews  which  had  once  covered  the  compact  body  had 
been  worn  away  in  the  very  fire  lighted  to  burn  the  martyrs 
of  independent  thought. 

You  remember,  my  brethren,  the  story  of  that  Babylonian 
King  who  se(  up  a  huge  statue  of  massive  gold  in  the  plains 
of  Dura.  At  the  sound  of  a  thousand  instruments  the 
glories  of  that  idol  were  heralded.     Woe  unto  them  that  did 


—  13  — 

not  then  kiss  the  ground  in  humble  adoration  !  Three  men 
dared  disobey.  A  furnace  is  made  ready,  but  so  fiercely  hot 
that  in  approaching  it  the  messengers  of  the  royal  will, 
charged  to  cast  in  the  righteous,  become  themselves  a  prey 
to  the  devouring  flames.  In  like  manner  it  has  happened 
with  the  representative  of  the  Church  of  Rome.  The  blazing 
pyre,  which  reduced  to  ashes  John  Huss  and  Jerome  of 
Prague,  Fra  Savonarola  and  Giordano  Bruno,  consumed  the 
power  that  thrust  them  in.  The  head  of  that  Church  saw 
the  power,  whilom  insuperably  strong,  wane  into  a  shadow, 
and  he  imagined  he  could  yet  restore  it  to  its  former  grandeur. 
He  encircled  his  person  with  new  charms,  bewitching  to  the 
credulous  masses.  He  proclaimed  himself  a  divinity  in- 
fallible as  God,  and  from  the  earthly  heaven  to  which  he  up 
lifted  his  deified-self,  launched  anathemas  against  liberty  and 
social  progress. 

In  vain  :  mankind  mocked  the  impotent  attempt  to  drive 
back  the  tidal  waves  which  roll  in  the  accumulated  wealth 
of  long  and  hard  labors — unrestricted  knowledge,  freedom  of 
speech  and  freedom  of  press.  Micah's  prophecy  has  been 
fulfilled :  "As  in  the  days  of  the  deliverance  from  Egypt  I 
will  show  them  marvels." 

How  fares  now  Judaism?  you  ask  it?  Why,  it  lives  and 
thrives  under  the  new  regime,  because  it  has  nothing  to  fear 
from  the  extension  of  the  domains  of  thought.  When  the  most 
searching  minds  shall  have  dived  into  all  that  is  knowable  in 
science  and  metaphysics,  the  result  will  only  be  a  confirma- 
tion of  what  Moses  taught,  From  the  unity  of  design  in  the 
creation,  whether  effected  in  six  successive  periods  or  by 
evolutions,  we  learn  to  adore  a  Creator,  the  Prime  Mover  of 
all  that  exists,  the  Omnipotent  and  Eternal  God.  Astrono- 
mers with  their  improved  telescopes,  physiologists  with 
their  analyses,  philosophers  with  their  touch-stones,  will 
never  find  that  Israel's  belief  is  an  error,  detracting  from  the 
honor  due  to  the  Supreme,  or  offensive  to  reason,  and  to  an 
inborn  sentiment  of  human  dignity. 

But  will  not  the  external  agencies  by  which  Judaism  has 
preserved  that  ennobling  belief  suffer  wreck  on  the  sea  of 


—  14  — 

ever-changing  opinions?  No,  if  considered  in  the  spirit  of 
the  great  Legislator.  Thus  this  festival  which  sees  us  gath- 
ered in  solemn  convocation  is  History  rehearsing  the  past 
and  exacting  from  the  monotheistic  race  a  promise  of  fealty 
to  their  one  G-od.  The  bread  we  eat  is  a  reminder  not  of  a 
fiction,  as  the  flesh  in  the  eucharist,  but  of  a  wonderful  epi- 
sode in  our  annals.  The  wine  we  drink,  while  inviting  our 
children's  attention  to  that  episode,  is  not  the  imaginary 
blood  of  transubstantiation,  but  the  symbol  of  a  flow  of  joy  at 
the  recollection  of  an  unparalleled  salvation.  Not  of  a  god 
that  died  we  preach  at  this  season ;  not  of  a  god  resuscitated 
we  sing ;  our  speeches  and  our  psalmodies  are  dedicated  to 
Him  who  abides  everlastingly.  Oh,  that  we  would  always 
shed  a  halo  round  Jewish  practices  !  we  would  be  nearer  to 
truth ;  we  would  keep  closer  to  the  main  point  on  which  the 
future  of  Israel,  as  the  acknowleged  teacher  of  humanity? 
hinges. 

And,  indeed,  when  I  contemplate  such  scenes  as  that  pre- 
sented here  this  morning,  my  nature,  often  desponding,  grows 
buoyant  with  sustaining  hopes.  I  picture  to  my  mind 
America  as  the  virgin  soil  in  which  the  ritual  system  govern- 
ing Judaism  will  be  regenerated,  when  the  quarter  of  a  mil- 
lion of  Hebrews,  destined  to  increase  twofold,  shall  join 
hands  in  brotherly  affection  to  cast  in  that  soil  the  seeds  of 
union.  Union  in  worship ;  union  in  training  the  young  to 
prize  the  language  of  Holy  Writ  and  give  it  preference  in 
congregational  services ;  union  in  maintaining  the  Sabbath 
and  holidays,  covenanted  at  Sinai,  in  sanctifying  home  by 
significant  ceremonies,  lopping  off  excrescences,  but  culti- 
vating the  choice  branches  of  the  Judaic  tree  of  traditions. 
Let  me  tell  it  without  any  possible  ambiguity.  I  long  for 
a  union  which  will  wisely  retain  all  which  tends  to  strengthen 
our  conviction  in  the  immutability  of  God's  essence;  all 
which  recalls  the  goodness  and  mercy  of  the  world's  Creator, 
the  apostolate  of  Israel,  as  harbingers  of  soul-elevating  verities; 
all  that  incites  deeds  of  beneficence,  that  softens  hardships 
and  comforts  us  in  distress;  but  a  union  which  also  rejects 
whatever  is  the  offspring  of  prejudice  and  superstition,  engen- 


—  15  — 

derecl  by  clanishness  resulting  from  ages  of  social  debasement. 
That  is  my  aspiration,  and  you  can  transform  it  into  a 
splendid  reality.  I  am  not  indifferent  to  the  struggle  among 
contending  parties  in  oar  religious  camp.  I  rather  favor  the 
agitation  which  discloses  activity — a  determination  to  test 
the  soundness  of  principles.  It  is  by  winnowing  the  grain 
that  the  chaff  is  separated.  Perhaps  opposite  views  will 
finally  settle  into  a  universal  acceptance  of  what  agrees  with 
our  mission  and  promotes  the  object  of  our  selection.  That 
which  I  dread  is  stagnation,  a  total  stoppage  of  the  current 
of  thought  on  subjects  which  concern  Judaism  and  the  hap- 
piness of  my  people.  But  your  crowded  attendance  dispels 
that  apprehension.  You  feel  your  pulsations  beat  high 
for  your  fathers'  faith ;  you  still  love  the  flock  of  God's  pas- 
ture. With  them  you  are  content  to  be  led  into  the  path 
that  Moses  pointed  out  and  the  sages  leveled  and  graded. 

The  eyes  of  your  European  brethren  are  upon  you.  If  the 
franchises  you  can  claim  do  not  have  the  power  to  wean  your 
hearts  away  from  tenets  which  our  ancestors  preserved  at  all 
hazards ;  if,  notwithstanding  your  free  and  friendly  inter- 
course with  persons  of  different  creeds  and  denominations, 
you  enter  into  no  entangling  alliances  with  the  worshipers  of 
a  man-god,  be  he  represented  in  gilded  images  or  in  the  out- 
ward form  of  church  architecture,  then  you  will  serve  as  the 
ideal  which  your  fellow-believers,  enjoying  now  in  part  the 
immunities  you  vastly  possess,  will  eagerly  follow  in  shaping 
their  future  course.  But  if  you  evince  a  wavering  disposi- 
tion or  heedlessness,' fatal  will  be  the  effect  in  generations  yet 
unborn  in  this  land  and  baneful  in  the  extreme  to  our  eman- 
cipated co-religionists  abroad.  *  *  *  Oh,  no,  you  will 
not  shame  liberty  by  abjuring  faith  !  Sinai,  Judea,  will  be 
the  signet  by  which  all  shall  recognize  your  names,  as  men 
loyal  to  God,  faithful  to  Israel,  while  glorying  in  being  called 
citizens  of  the  American  Republic. 


THE    NEW   YEAR 


A  SERMON. 


BY    REV.    GEORGE  JACOBS, 

(Minister  of  the  Beth-El  Emeth  Congregation,  Philadelphia,  Pa.) 


With  the  setting  of  yesterday's  sun  a  new  year  was 
ushered  into  the  House  of  Israel— a  new  year  which  is  not 
of  human  making  or  establishment,  but  a  new  year  which 
brings  to  our  mind  the  creation  of  this  vast  universe  and  all 
that  is  therein  contained — a  new  year  which  tells  us  of  a 
Great  Creator,  who  formed  every  object  on  which  our  eye  can 
rest,  and  all  other  things  in  heaven  and  earth,  "  which  are 
dreamt  not  in  our  philosophy." 

This  constant  revolution— these  perpetual  evidences  of 
close  and  beginning — destruction  and  renewal  must  remind 
us  that  nothing  on  earth  is  stationary  or  unchangeable. 
Each  returning  year  sets  plainly  before  us  that  the  wheels  of 
time  never  cease  moving ;  they  perform  their  allotted  task 
day  by  day  and  year  after  year,  while  the  transitions  which 
pass  before  our  eyes  tell  us  plainly  and  unmistakably  that 
there  is  a  Supreme  Being  who  holds  in  His  hand  the  lines  of 
our  existence  and  measures  out  to  each  of  us  his  allotted 
portion  of  that  line. 

But  in  celebrating  the  New  Year  we  are  struck  with  the 
peculiarity  of  this  day  of  gathering  in  comparison  with 
others.  Each  of  the  "  Festivals  of  the  Lord  "  has  its  denned 
mode  of  observance,  but,  apart  from  sounding  the  cornet, 
this  is  merely  Yom  Hazikaron,  "  A  Day  of  Memorial ;"  and 
yet  what  a  wide  range  is  presented  before  us  !  We  look  back- 
ward and  forward.  Recollection  will  readily  present  to  us, 
in  the  past,  a  busy  period  filled  with  an  admixture  of  busi- 
ness and  pleasures,  anxieties  and  cares,  joys  and  sorrows.   We 


—  18  — 

will  note  plans  formed  and  pursuits  entered  upon  with  avidity, 
and  yet  how  many  of  them  have  been  really  completed,  how 
many  of  them  have  reached  the  culmination  we  have  ardently 
desired?  Let  me  ask,  dear  friends,  if  you  review  the  past  year 
aright,  what  proportion  of  the  things  that  have  happened, 
could  have  been  foreseen  or  foretold  by  you, — how  many  have 
occurred  of  which  you  had  not  the  least  expectation?  Some, 
perhaps,  have  succeeded  beyond  your  anticipations,  and  a  few 
of  you  have  reaped  a  rich  harvest  of  hopes  fulfilled ;  while 
others,  very  many  others,  have  met  with  nought  but  disap- 
pointment, realizing  most  bitter  regrets,  and  are  forced  to  make 
the  acknowledgment,  how  tardy  soever  it  niay  be,  that  while 
man  was  devising  the  way,  Providence  was  directing  the  event. 

Well,  we  may  liken  ourselves  to  a  traveler  proceeding  on  a 
long  and  tedious  journey,  who  pauses,  at  times,  to  cast  a  glance 
upon  the  portion  he  has  already  accomplished,  and  seeing  the 
long  distance  which  lieth  beyond,  resumes  his  march  within- 
creased  celerity  and  diligence.  So,  dear  friends,  in  our  pas- 
sage through  this  world  to  the  unknown  beyond,  it  is  the  part 
of  wisdom  «to  look  back  at  what  it  hath  pleased  God  to  dis- 
pense unto  us,  and  to  look  forward  to  His  unfailing  mercy,  so 
as  to  be  material  gainers  in  resuming  the  journey. 

The  scene  of  the  past  is  now  closed.  The  tale  of  that  year 
has  been  told.  We  now  look  forward  to  that  which  has  just 
dawned  upon  us,  and  what  do  we  behold  there?  A  perfect 
blank  is  in  view,  an  unknown  expanse  presents  itself  before 
us.  We  are,  as  it  were,  entering  on  a  new,  untried,  undiscov- 
ered country.  As  each  week  rolls  around,  new  scenes  may 
open,  new  objects  may  engage  our  attention,  new  ties  may  be 
contracted,  new  affections  may  ripen,  of  which  we  have  now 
not  the  slightest  idea, — yea,  there  may  be  changes  at  home 
and  abroad,  changes  among  those  with  whom  we  mix  every 
day,  or  in  our  own  domestic  circle  ;  changes  which  may  alter 
the  whole  current  of  our  lives  and  vary  all  our  calculations. 
New  connections,  which  we  are  about  to  form,  maybe  close  at 
hand,  old  ones  may  be  gradually  being  loosened  without  our 
slightest  knowledge,  till  the  unwelcome  truth  comes  before  us 
in  all  its  pain  and  anguish.     Yes,  friends,  there  is  no  denying 


—  19  — 

the  amount  of  uncertainty  which  a  new  year  places  before  us. 
With  all  our  experience  of  the  past,  life  and  death,  prosperity 
and  adversity,  joy  and  sorrow, — all  lie  in  one  indistinguish- 
able mass,  where  our  eye  can  descry  nothing  through  the  ob- 
scurity that  envelops  it. 

Now,  contemplating  this  uncertainty  in  human  affairs  ;  this 
blindness,  so  far  as  the  future  is  concerned,  this  want  of  knowl- 
edge as  to  what  will  be  the  result  of  our  striving,  the  words  of 
the  wise  Koheleth,  WDV7\  nnn  tejpp  )bttV  bl2  Ultib  jnrr  no  come 
strikingly  before  us  : 

"  What  profit  hath  a  man  of  all  his  labor,  which  he  labor- 
eth  under  the  sun?"'     Eccl.  i.  3. 

Let  this  be  our  New  Year's  reflection,  and  full  of  profit  will 
it  be  to  us,  if  undertaken  in  the  right  spirit. 

In  secular  affairs,  the  close  of  one  year  and  the  opening  of 
another,  generally  finds  us  busy  and  active.  The  accounts  of 
the  past  twelve  months  have  to  be  carefully  looked  over ;  the 
various  transactions  inquired  into,  profits  and  losses  esti- 
mated, and  the  balance  struck.  This  is  but  a  right  proced- 
ure. It  is  just  what  a  careful  and  prudent  man  should  do,  so 
as  to  know  his  exact  position,  and  be  guided  in  his  future 
transactions.  He  who  does  otherwise,  and  takes  no  account 
of  his  affairs  at  periodical  times,  but  merely  goes  on  at  hap- 
hazard, would  be  looked  upon  not  merely  as  unwise,  but  as  a 
very  unsafe  man  with  whom  to  have  business  relations ;  while 
he  who  looks  carefully  over  his  books  and  notices  where  he 
€an  safely  expend  and  where  he  should  retrench,  commends 
himself  to  us,  in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  as  coming  up 
to  the  proper  standard.  This  is  but  an  outline  of  the  affairs 
between  man  and  man.  These  profits  and  losses  are  the 
worldly  ones,  which  are  the  result  of  man's  earthly  toil,  "  in 

all  his  labor  which  he  laboreth  under  the  sun." 

•J 

Now,  if  we  realize  the  fact  that  we  are  something  more  than 
mere  flesh  and  blood,  that  we  have  been  placed  highest  in 
the  scale  of  creation,  that  we  have  within  us  an  immortal 
soul,  which  evidences  that  we  have  been  fashioned  after  the 
image  and  likeness  of  the  Divine  Artificer,  then  we  must 


—  20  — 

readily  acknowledge  that  as  we  are  accountable  to  each  other 
for  some  of  the  various  transactions  of  life,  we  are,  to  a  greater 
extent,  accountable  to  God  for  all  the  transactions  of  life. 

Your  very  presence  here  this  day  is  an  admission,  full  and 
complete,  that  you  recognize  in  Deity  "  the  King  of  Justice  ;" 
that  is  to  say,  that  although  it  has  been  asserted  that  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrines  of  our  holy  faith,  final  judgment  will  not 
be  pronounced  till  the  grave  has  closed  over  us  and  we  have 
entered  the  gates  of  eternity ;  _  still,  this  day  is  one  of  strict 
accountability  to  God,  who  reviews  our  actions  of  the  past  year, 
and  will  either  "  blot  out  our  iniquities  "  or  inscribe  them  in 
the  book  of  unfading  record,  to  be  finally  sealed  on  the  ap- 
proaching Yom-Kippur.  Have  you  come  here,  dear  friends 
and  fellow-believers,  to  observe  the  New  Year  as  it  should 
really  be  observed?  Have  you  come  to  make  up  your  accounts 
with  God,  to  strike  the  true  balance  and  to  realize,  in  the 
words  of  the  text,  the  actual  profit  of  "  the  labor  you  have  la- 
bored under  the  sun?  " 

You  may  be  able  to  point  to  transactions  in  the  past  year  in 
which  you  have  been  unsuccessful ;  speculations  in  which  you 
embarked  that  turned  out  badly,  while,  with  a  glowing  heart, 
you  may  be  able  to  show  your  sharpness  and  acuteness  in  many 
others,  whereby  you  have  realized  largely ;  indeed,  no  matter 
who  has  lost,  you  have  gained.  But  has  not  experience  taught 
you  that  such  gains  often  have  wings ;  that  what  is  made  in 
one  year  may  be  lost  in  the  next,  and  that  while  it  is  necessary 
for  a  man  to  have  his  daily  avocations  and  not  to  lag  behind 
in  the  race  of  life,  there  are  accounts  and  transactions  which 
should  have  equally  as  high  a  place  in  his  daily  affairs?  This, 
too,  is  a  New  Year — the  old  one  has  recently  closed  and  an- 
other dawned.  This  Yom  Hazikaron  is  no  time  set  by  man, 
but  is  from  God,  God  who  created  us  and  all  things  around 
us.  Will  you  do  less  in  religious  than  in  secular  affairs? 
Will  you  not  compute  your  accounts  mentally,  think  of  the 
result  of  your  labors  and  strike  the  true  balance?  This  is  the 
real  object  of  the  day  of  memorial,  and  how  painful  soever 
may  be  the  retrospect,  how  full  of  sorrow  for  our  short-com- 
ings, yet  must  we  enter  faithfully  upon  the  duties  I  have 


—  21  — 

pointed  out  to  you,  if  we  desire  to  observe  this  day  in  the 
spirit  of  its  institution. 

The  balance,  I  repeat,  must  be  struck,  and  we  will  see  plainly 
that  too  many  of  us,  who  have  dealt  fairly  and  squarely  with 
our  fellow-men,  have  been  defaulters  in  our  transactions  with 
God.  We  have  been  intrusted  by  Him  above  with  a  certain 
amount  of  "  capital "  in  life,  health,  energy,  intelligence  and 
circumspection.  We  have  been  supplied  with  these  means 
when  we  have  been  in  sore  need  of  them  day  after  day,  and 
have  had  an  undying  light  to  show  us  the  wa}'  we  must  go. 
What  return  have  we  made  for  these  things?  Some  can  point 
with  pride  to  their  balance  sheet  and  show  the  good  they  have 
done  on  earth,  the  bleeding  wounds  they  have  stanched,  the 
tottering  limbs  they  have  sustained,  the  naked  they  have 
clothed,  the  hungry  they  have  fed,  the  despondent  they  have 
cheered,  the  ignorant  they  have  educated  and  the  religion  they 
have  upheld, — all  of  which  have  been  duly  placed  to  their 
credit  by  the  Great  Accountant  Above,  "  who  glanceth  not  at 
externals,"  but  "  looketh  into  the  innermost  recesses  of  the 
heart "  and  understandeth  its  every  emotion. 

But  there  are  many  who  make  a  fair  show  before  the  world 
and  stand  in  good  credit,  who  are  far  behindhand  with  Deity 
when  this  secret  account  is  called  up.  How  many  have  built 
up  their  earthly  substantiability  on  the  ruin  of  others'  for- 
tunes, good  names  and  expectations?  How  many  transactions 
that  have  been  kept  within  the  strict  bounds  of  the  law  have 
been  far  from  equitable?  How  many  have  thrown  away  dol- 
lars for  trash  who  have  begrudged  cents  for  God  and  His  wor- 
ship, while  there  are  hosts  who  are  ready  to  fulfill  the  demands 
of  their  neighbor,  but  who  will  not  in  gratitude  give  anything 
or  make  any  sacrifice  on  the  altar  of  faith?  Is  year  after  year 
to  roll  around,  and  although  we  are  advancing  with  rapid 
strides  to  "  the  place  appointed  for  all  living,"  are  we  to  be  as 
inconsistent  in  our  actions  and  take  no  steps  to  place  our- 
selves in  better  condition  with  our  Maker?  Shall  Israel,  the 
race  intrusted  with  the  promulgation  of  God's  laws  and  ordi- 
nances, be  the  very  people  to  disregard  them?  Shall  we  con- 
tinue, week  after  week,  to  tell  our  children,  "  This  is  the  Law 


22 

which  Moses  set  before  the  children  of  Israel,"  and  "  which 
man  shall  perform  and  thereby  live,"  and  yet  give  the  lie  to 
what  we  utter?  Shall  we  come  here  year  after  year  and  ac- 
knowledge God  as  the  Judge  of  mankind,  that  all  our  actions 
pass  in  review  before  Him,  and  that  it  is  our  bounden  duty 
to  make  the  three  great  principles,  "  Penitence,  Prayer  and 
Benevolence,"  the  three  pillars  on  which  our  moral  and  spir- 
itual edifice  is  to  be  erected,  while  at  the  very  moment  we  are 
uttering  the  words  with  apparent  sincerity,  we  know  we  have 
no  intention  of  heeding  them? 

There  is  a  cry  for  a  change  on  all  sides.  We  do  need  a 
change — a  most  vital  change  in  many  respects,  and  no  one  ad- 
mits it  in  more  truth  and  sincerity  than  I  do,  but  while  we 
regard  the  shell,  let  us  not  forget  the  kernel ;  while  endeavor- 
ing to  beautify  and  adorn  the  casket,  let  us  not  underestimate 
the  priceless  jewel  which  lieth  within. 

Strike  the  balance  of  your  heavenly  accounts,  my  dear  hear- 
ers, and  see  where  you  really  stand.  "  If  peace  answereth 
thee,"  it  is  well,  but  if  it  does  not,  then,  for  God's  sake,  let  this 
be  truly  a  new  year,  one  wherein  you  will  honestly  endeavor 
to  lay  by  things  to  your  credit,  to  pay  the  Almighty  His  just 
due,  and  permit  the  recording  angel  to  inscribe  much  in  your 
favor  in  the  Book  of  Heavenly  record. 

While  we  are  taught  by  our  sages  that  "man  is  judged 
daily,"  yet  it  is  an  accepted  truth  that  this  day  our  Father  in 
Heaven  sits  in  judgment  over  those  who  do  not  daily  com- 
mune with  themselves  and  who  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  warn- 
ings of  conscience,  while  it  is  a  land  mark  in  the  course  of  our 
earthly  pilgrimage. 

Shall  we  not  take  advantage  of  a  day  so  benificently  ac- 
corded to  us,  to  wipe  out  all  our  shortcomings  in  the  past  by 
being  at  once  prepared  for  the  Kippur,  which  will,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  soon  be  with  us?  Shall  we  not  endeavor  to  make 
the  open  book,  whose  pages  are  blank  before  us,  be  inscribed 
with  acts  and  deeds  to  our  credit,  and  gain  for  us  a  reward 
from  On  High  which  can  never  be  lost,  which  can  never  perish? 

Oh,  let  us  strive  to  make  this  New  Year  different  from  past 
ones  ;  let  us  be  animated  with  the  spirit  of  true  religion,  which 


23  — 


consists  not  in  the  length  of  our  orisons,  the  vehemence  of  our 
tones  nor  the  volubility  of  our  utterance  ;  let  us  vow  to  "  do 
justly,  to  love  mercy  and  to  walk  humbly  before  our  God,"  to 
enter  on  a  coufse  of  true  penitence,  heartfelt  prayer  and  deeds 
of  benevolence  ;  then,  when  our  last  hour  on  earth  has  arrived, 
and  the  trump  of  recall  to  our  true  home  has  been  sounded, 
we  will  truly  realize  u  what  is  the  actual  profit  of  a  man's  la- 
bor, which  he  laboreth  under  the  sun." 


ISRAEL  A   MISSIONARY   PEOPLE. 


SABBATH  "SACIIOR"  SERMON. 


BY  REV.  DR.  H.  VIDAVER, 

'Of  San  Francisco,  Gal.) 


Tbxt:— Exodus,  cap.  17.  v.  11.     "  And  it  came  to  pass  when  Moses  lifted  up  his 
hand,  and  Israel  triumphed." 

On  the  Sabbath  preceding  the  Feast  of  Purim  we  read,  ac- 
cording to  time-honored  custom,  the  narration  of  Amalek's 
brutal  attack  upon  Israel,  and  Israel's  triumph  over  Amalek. 
This  is  a  very  significant  custom.  It  is  not  merely  a  mean- 
ingless calling  into  mind  of  an  event  that  since  thousands  of 
years  had  been  buried  in  the  gulf  of  oblivion,  but  it  is  rather 
an  indispensable  keeping  alive  of  an  idea  which  underlies  that 
very  event  and  which  penetrates  the  whole  long  and  wonder- 
ful career  of  our  people,  from  the  time  of  their  redemption 
from  Egypt's  thraldom  to  this  very  day ;  and  which  will  per- 
vade our  life  and  constitute  our  main  destiny  on  earth  until 
that  day  will  arrive  when  : 

"  God's  temple  will  be  all  space, 

His  altars,  earth,  sea  and  skies; 

One  chorus  all  mankind  will  raise, 

To  one  God,  the  All-loving  and  All-wise!  " 

It  was  and  is  the  idea  of  Israel's  struggles ;  implying  the 
struggles  against  Amalek,  that  is  against  "  Idolatry  "  in  all 
shapes  and  manners;  against  inhumanity  in  all  ways  and 
forms.  It  was  and  is  the  idea  of  Israel's  triumphs,  implying 
the  triumph  of  truth,  the  triumph  of  a  pure  faith  in  the 
"  Unity"  of  God  and  the  moral  elevation  of  the  human  race. 
An  explanation  given  by  the  ancient  sages  of  the  Mishnah 
to  our  text  presents  to  us  in  the  brightest  light  the  whole  scope 


—  26  — 

and  nature  of  Israel's  contests  and  Israel's  victories.  "What/7 
ask  the  rabbis,  "does  it  mean  :  that  when  Moses  lifted  up  his 
hand  Israel  triumphed  ?  "  nonSo  nmvj»  us  mciy  n^D  Sk>  rT  *31 
Did  the  issues  of  the  war  depend  upon  the  lifting  up  of  Jbhe 
hands  of  the  Prophet?  Certainly  not,  is  their  answer,  but  it 
signifies  the  glorious  fact  that  so  long  as  Israel  will  be  in  an 
uplifting  attitude,  having  his  heart  and  mind  directed  heaven- 
ward, triumph  will  surely  be  his  in  all  climes  and  all  times. 
fcTOJn  2JH  im  SnJ  ill  This  is  a  glorious  word  spoken  by 
the  ancient  rabbi ;  it  is  fully  verified  by  the  divine  testimony 
of  history. 

My  friends,  a  glance  through  the  wide  vista  of  our  check- 
ered annals  will  satisfy  every  unbiased  mind  that  Israel 
was  appointed  by  an  All- wise  Providence  to  be  for  all  times 
"  a  kingdom  of  priests,"  that  is  a  missionary  people  among  the 
children  of  man.  It  was  and  is  the  will  of  God  that  through 
Israel  His  divine  light  of  pure  faith  should  be  dispensed 
among  the  human  kind  ;  that  through  Israel  the  blessings  of 
truth  should  be  ministered  to  the  human  family  at  large ;  in 
brief,  it  was  and  is  the  will  of  God  that,  through  the  agency 
of  the  Jewish  people,  mankind  should  gradually  abandon  their 
idolatries  and  become  converted  to  the  true  faith.  But  no  one, 
knowing  the  spirit  of  Judaism,  could  for  a  moment  suppose 
that  Israel's  destiny  to  convert  mankind  was  ever  to  be  car- 
ried out  by  dint  of  aggressive  and  warlike  means;  by  acts  of 
coercion  or  persecution,  by  the  use  of  burning  racks  or  hiss- 
ing stakes.  Nor  will  any  one,  knowing  the  true  aim  of  Juda- 
ism, suppose  that  Israel's  duty  was  or  is  to  obtrude  his  Thora 
upon  any  one  belonging  to  another  race;  to  go  on  highways 
and  byways  and  preach  his  faith  •'  to  every  creature."  No, 
No!  Israel's  mission  was  rn  ver  to  convert  mankind  into  Ju- 
(Iti/sni.  i.  < ..  to  bring  over  non-Israelites  to  the  folds  of  the 
synagogue,  to  cause  non-Jews  to  share  the  peculiar  duties  and 
obligations  devolved  upon  Israel  as  such  ;  as  the  people  of 
the  "distinct  covenant  :"  no,  bul  it  was  and  is  Israel's  taskto 
convert  mankind  to  thi  idea  of  Judaism.  It  was  and  is  Israel's 
duty  to  help  in  the  uplifting  of  the  human  mind  to  the  Pisgah- 


heights  of  the  purest  coneeption  of  the  Deity  as  One  absolute 
Godhead,  and  the  uplifting  of  the  human  heart  to  the  blessed 
conception  of  humanity  as  the  broadest,  most  comprehensive 
principle  of  love. 

Oh,  friends,  only  such  as  aspire  to  convert  others  to  their 
sectarian  churches,  the  offspring  of  their  narrow  minds  ;  only 
those  that  are  striving  to  see  others  embrace  their  dogmatic 
creeds,  the  outcome  of  their  own  beclouded  brains,  will  over- 
step the  boundaries  of  reason,-  and  their  zeal  will  soon  deepen 
into  the  blackest  bigotry  and  fanaticism,  and  will  soon  have 
recourse  to  weapons  deadly  and  persecutions  infernal,  and 
deal  damnation  to  each  they  deem  their  opponent.  The  ty- 
rant of  all  times  has  but  one  motto  :  *WDEX1  ^K  "  I  am, 
and  no  one  shall  be  besides  me,"  hence  the  tyrant's  furious 
zeal  for  absolute  power  and  aggrandizement ;  hence  his  rest- 
less suspiciousness,  his  impatience  of  opposition  or  contradic- 
tion, and  hence  his  inhumanity  and  barbarity.  "  I  and  none 
else  "  has  been  the  motto  likewise  of  church  tyranny.  The 
priestly  tyrant,  like  the  imperial  despot,  must  needs  become 
impatient,  suspicious,  oppressive  and  barbarous.  "  Outside  of 
the  Islam  there  is  no  hope,"  was  the  tyrannical  cry  of  Moham- 
medanism, hence  the  sword  became  its  means  of  conversion. 
"  Extra  ecclesiam  nulla  salus": — outside  of  the  Church  there  is 
no  salvation,  was  the  motto  of  the  Christian  Church,  hence 
its  infernal  instruments  of  conversion ;  hence  its  bloody  in- 
quisitions and  hellish  tribunals  of  conscience;  hence  all  the 
curses  of  the  Middle  Ages — the  legitimate  offspring  of  Church 
tyranny,  which  was  nothing  but  the  natural  outcome  of 
mean-spirited  sectarianism ;  a  monster  that  knows  no  rest, 
no  peace ;  it  must,  Amalek-like,  pounce  upon  helpless  inno- 
cence and  seek  its  destruction. 

But,  npJT  pbn  nSx3  xS  "  such  was  never  nor  can  ever  be, 
the  portion  of  Jacob."  Israel  was  and  is  a  missionary  people 
in  the  holiest  sense  of  the  word.  Israel's  mission  was  not  to 
propagate  dogmatisms,  or  the  peculiarl&ws  of  the  synagogue  ; 
his  mission  was  not  to  gain  votaries  to  the  distinctive  cove- 
nant of  his  race,  and  thus  to  increase  numerically  the  adher- 
ents to  this  or  that  form  of  worship  ;  but  his  manifest  destiny 


—  28  — 

was  and  is  to  gain  adherents  to  the  glowing  idea  of  the  pur- 
est faith  in  the  absolute  unity  of  God  and  votaries  to  a  pro- 
gressive and  an  all-embracing  humanity.  The  blood  flowing 
in  the  heart  of  the  Jew  needs  no  admixture  of  that  of  any 
other  race  in  order  to  increase  its  current.  Numerically  we  are 
forever  to  be  DWn  S)3B  DV£  u  the  smallest  of  all  people,"  but 
spiritually  we  are  always  to  be  D^n  ^D  bv  }^V  "  superior  to  all 
nations. ,? 

The  -Jew  was  and  is  to  be  a  missionary  among  mankind,  not 
to  disseminate  the  dogmatic  doctrines  of  a  religious  sect,  but 
to  teach  an  all-embracing  faith  ;  the  Jew  is  to  be  the  mission- 
ary, not  of  a  peculiar  church,  but  of  a  common  humanity. 
Hence,  while  the  followers  of  fanaticism  used  means  of  de- 
struction to  encompass  their  despotic  ends,  Israel  was  told 
Ol  Sto  Sx  that  through  the  u  spirit  "  he  was  to  triumph — 
through  the  spirit  of  truth,  justice  and  love  which  he  was  to 
represent  and  which  alone  he  was  to  teach  and  propagate. 
Never  did  the  prophets  of  ancient  Israel  promise  in  the  name 
of  God  that  the  ultimate  triumph  of  Israel  would  consist  in  con- 
verting all  nations  into  the  covenant  of  the  flesh  and  bringing 
them  over  to  the  synagogue,  and  adopt  the  Hebrew  as  their 
language,  but  those  inspired  seers  foretold  Israel's  triumph  in 
seeing  the  day  approach  when  all  mankind  will  conjointly 
with  Israel  acknowledge  Adonai  as  God  One. 

Now  the  question  arises,  did  Israel  act  up  to  his  missionary 
calling,  and  did  he  help  to  convert  mankind  gradually  to  the 
pure  idea  of  faith,  and  the  ennobling  conception  of  humanity? 
Verily,  Israel  did  at  all  times  past  live  up  to  his  sacred  call- 
ing. True,  he  never  sent  out  salaried  preachers ;  he  never 
spread  tracts  on  highways  and  byways  ;  he  never  marred  the 
peace  of  families  by  alienating  from  their  fireside  some  weak- 
minded  members.  The  Jew  never  believed  in  the  efficacy  of 
pious  cant  and  sanctimonious  and  empty  words.  The  Jew  as 
a  missionary  was  silent  but  active.  Not  his  tongue  but  his 
life  ;  not  his  lips  but  his  whole  being,  spoke  of  God  and  his  law, 
of  love  and  justice. 

It  was,  as  our  rabbi  explains  our  text,  Israel's  incessant  up- 


—  29  — 

lifting  of  his  heart  heavenward  which  performed  so  well  his 
missionary  work.  It  was  the  Jew's  heroic  patience  in  his  un- 
equaled  sufferings ;  it  was  his  wonderful  perseverance  in  his 
fiery  trials,  which  could  not  be  considered  as  anything  else 
but  the  result  of  his  firm  belief  in  the  Holy  One,  and  thus  the 
Jew  truly  testified  in  the  face  of  the  sun  to  a  pure  faith  in  a 
Supreme  Being. 

Very  often  did  Amalek  attack  Israel,  but  whenever  Israel 
lifted  up  his  heart  heavenward,  being  fully  convinced  that  his 
destiny  was  like  that  of  the  Heavens  above,  to  silently  and 
emphatically  relate  the  glory  of  God,  his  triumph  and 
that  of  his  faith  was  sure.  By  the  rivers  of  Babylon  the  poor 
Hebrew  captives  were  taunted  by  their  idolatrous  conquerors, 
"  Where  is  your  God?"  Silently  the  poor  Hebrew  lifted  up 
his  heart  heavenward,  and  triumph  was  his.  When  after  years 
of  repose  in  Palestine,  the  spirit  of  Hellas  rose  in  fury  against 
the  spirit  of  Judaism,  it  was  not  the  strength  of  matter,  but 
that  of  the  spirit  of  truth,  that  made  Israel  triumph.  It  was 
the  uplifting  of  the  heart  heavenward  of  but  a  few  firm  be- 
lievers in  the  Holy. One  that  subdued  the  idolatrous  spirit  of 
Hellas  and  made  Israel's  truth  radiant  in  triumphant  glory. 
But  even  more  than  this.  After  the  crushing  hand  of  Rome 
destroyed  Israel's  nationality  and  flung  Israel  down  to  the 
ground,  and  fully  believing  Israel  vanquished  forever,  and  Is- 
rael's faith  blotted  out  entirely ;  all  this  time  Israel  was  si- 
lently lifting  up  his  heart  heavenward  and  his  faith  was  tri- 
umphing. Well  might  the  proud  Roman  sneer  at  the  audacity 
of  the  downtrodden  Jew  pointing  to  his  banner  with  the  in- 
scription :  Hear,  0  Israel,  Adonaiis  our  God — Adonai  is  One! 
Little  did  the  haughty  Roman  think  that  this  broken-down 
Jew  was  silently  lifting  his  heart  heavenward  and  thus  de- 
stroying Rome's  temples  and  altars,  and  gradually  converting 
the  pagan  world  to  Israel's  invisible  God,  the  Holy  One. 

During  the  Middle  Ages  Amalek  was  relentless  in  his  attack 
against  the  Jew,  the  worshiper  of  "  Adonai  Echod."  The 
Amaleks  of  the  Middle  Ages  appeared  in  diverse  forms.  You 
behold  them  in  the  garb  of  kings,  in  the  holy  robes  of  priests ; 
you  see  them  as  feudal  barons,  knights  and  brutish  mobs. 


—  :50  — 

At  times  you  behold  them  all  leagued  together  against  the 
helpless  Jew.  To  revile,  to  plunder  and  torture  the  Jew,  was 
praised  as  a  Christian  duty.  But  to  all  the  attacks  of  Amalek, 
for  more  than  seventeen  hundred  years,  the  Jew  opposed  only 
his  unflinching  patience,  his  unconquerable  perseverance  and  his 
pure  faith.  Through  the  long,  dreary  night  of  mediaeval  ages 
Israel  silently  lifted  up  his  heart  heavenward,  to  his  God  and 
his  lather's  God,  the  Holy  One  for  whose  truth  he  suffered, 
fully  convinced  that  so  sure  as  the  earth  turns  upon  its  axis 
and  sees  again  the  sun,  so  would  the  sun  of  peace  smile  upon 
him  again.  Ancl,  thanks  to  God,  Israel  triumphed  over  the 
Anialeks  of  the  Middle  Ages.  In  the  very  nature  of  his  strug- 
gles, namely,  in  the  constancy  and  patience  with  which  he 
passed  through  all  those  bitter  contests  ancl  terrible  ordeals, 
lay  his  missionary  labors  and  his  glorious  triumphs. 

Tortured  and  reviled,  the  Jew  was  still  distinguished  from 
his  relentless  persecutors  by  the  regularity  of  his  habits,  by 
the  purity  of  his  morals,  by  the  chastity  of  his  domestic  hearth, 
by  his  diligent  industry,  by  his  scholarship  and  loftiness  of 
faith.  His  industry  triumphed  over  feudal  indolence;  his  con- 
stant and  pure  faith  triumphed  over  the  hellish  inquisition 
and  barbarous  fanatacism ;  and  his  intelligence  and  intellect- 
ual pursuits  triumphed  against  the  demons  of  ignorance, 
Church  superstition  and  moral  darkness,  that  spread  their 
sable  folds  over  king,  priest  and  peasant. 

Thus  the  Jew  was  the  only  true  missionary  on  earth ;  his 
life,  his  being,  his  sufferings,  his  patience,  his  moral  and 
intellectual  labors  and  active  virtues  preached  God,  law,  order, 
love,  truth,  justice,  charity  and  good  will  more  eloquently  than 
all  preachers  and  missionaries  of  Christendom  ever  did,  or 
will  ever  be  able  to  do. 

My  friends,  we  of  the  present  generation  have  to  continue 
the  missionary  labors  of  our  fathers.  Let  our  pure  family 
lives,  our  honesty  and  integrity,  our  purity  of  faith,  be  our 
active  missionaries  and  teach  "  love  and  peace  "  now  and  for- 
evermore. 


mm    n n d e? 

(Simchath   Torah.) 


BY  KEY.  DR.  M.  JASTROW. 


Sieg  ift  bie  Sbora,  bieg  bag  2Bort, 
Sag  ©ott  ung  bat  gegeben, 

Safe  loir'g  betoabren'fort  »nb  fort  ■ 
tlnb  tragen  burd)  bag  Seben  ! 

SBetf  ouf,  Sol!  guba,  bod)  fie  auf, 
Su  barfft  mtt  ©tolj\  fie  jetgen, 

©te  tft  gefauft  urn  boben  ftauf, 
Urn  fyoben  ^reig  bein  eigen. 

Su  gabft  fa  bjn  fiir  biefes  @ut, 
2Bag  nur  ber  9ftenfd)  befi^et ; 

©liid,  §abe,  ffreibeit,  (Sftre,— SBlut 
§aft  bu  barum  oerfpritjet. 

Sieg  ift  ba§  l)immlifd)e  ^Sanier, 
Urn  bag  toir  mutbig  ftritten, 

llnb  taufenb  Sobe  baben  tr-ir 
Urn  bieg  Ranter  getitten. 

©ott,  unfer  £onig,@ott  ber  3Jlad)t, 
Su  gabft  eg  urtfern  2Ibnen ; 

©ieftnb  gefaU'n  in  mand)er  <5d)lad)t, 
Sod)  fjier  finb  unfre  gebnen. 

Sie  Mmpfer  fanfen  urn  fie  ber 
2ln  SHenge  nid)t  ju  3ablen ; 

Sod)  lief?  ber  Sieft  fid?  nitnmermebr 
3u  feigetn  SlbfaU  quciien. 

®g  quoll  SBerberben  ringg  fyerbor, 
2Btr  fd/toammen  burdj  bie  ^lutben ; 

£ocb.  bielten  hrir  be  %aW  entt>or 
2tug  Saoaftromeg  ©tutfyen. 

2BobJ  sJland)er  toarb,  in  fte  gebUUt, 

Sen  glammen  iibergeben, 
SBobl  Ma  ia)er  liefe  auf  biefem  ©dbilb 

Surd)bobrt  fein  tapfreg  Seben. 

Ser  gein^  fd)ofe  ^jSfeile,  ^euer,  ©ift 
3jm  nte  geftillten  otreite  ; 

2Bir  retteten  bie  ©ottegfd)rift, 
Sonft  2tUeg  toarb  jur  Seute ! 

Srum  beben  fair  fie  freubig  auf ; 

2Bir  biirfen  fiibn  fie  jctgen, 
<5ie  ift  gefauit  um  fyofyen  $auf, 

Um  boben  ^reig  ung  e  gen. 

Sie  £dmfcfe  rub'n  ;  bod)  toiirben  fie 

3e  roieber  ung  erreia)en, 
<Sie  fotlen'a  finben,  bafe  nrir  nie 

SSon  unf'rer  #abne  toeia)en. 


—  32  — 

The  poem  just  read  is  a  feeble  rendition  of  a  German  com- 
position, called  k'  Hagbahah,"  and  refers  to  the  minister's  lift- 
ing up  the  unfolded  scrolls  of  the  Law  and  calling  out  HXH 
minn  "This  is  the  Torah  which  Moses  placed  before  the 
children  of  Israel  by  the  command  of  the  Lord."  It 
directly  introduces  us  into  the  special  celebration  of  this 
day.  which  custom  has  attached  to  the  Festival  of  Con- 
clusion, under  the  appellation  of  Simchath  Torah,  or  the  "  Re- 
joicing of  the  Law."  As  you  are  aware,  it  is  an  ancient  cus- 
tom preserved  to  this  day,  on  every  Sabbath  to  read  a  portion 
of  the  Pentateuch  successively,  and  when  the  book  is  gone 
through,  its  last  portion  is  read  on  this  festival  and  at  the 
same  time  it  is  commenced  anew,  as  if  to  indicate  that  the 
duty  of  preserving  and  studying  the  Law  is  a  thing  of  infin- 
ity, which  ends  where  it  commences  and  commences  where  it 
ends. 

For  the  sake  of  shortening  the  service  and  giving  more  time 
to  lectures  which  of  late  have  become  an  integral  part  of  our 
devotion,  some  congregations,  reviving  an  ancient,  nearly  for- 
gotten custom,  reintroduced  the  so-called  Triennial  Cycle  by 
dividing  the  Book  of  the  Law  into  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  successive  sections,  so  that  three  years  are  required  to  fin- 
ish the  book  and  celebrate  the  Simchath  Torah,  which,  conse- 
quently, can  not  take  place  but  every  three  years.  We,  in  our 
congregation — and  another  one  in  this  city  has  followed  our 
example— have  adopted  a  somewhat  different  course,  inasmuch 
as  we  read  on  every  Sabbath  one-third  part  of  the  Weekly 
Lesson  of  the  old  arrangement,  by  doing  which  we  proceed  in 
concert  with  all  our  brethren  all  over  the  world  and  avoid  the 
confusion  of  which  innovations  frequently  are  the  cause,  and 
finally  have  the  benefit  of  celebrating  the  Simchath  Torah 
every  year  with  the  rest  of  our  brethren. 

The  festival  is  called  The  Rejoicing  of  the  LaAV,  and  indeed 
the  older  generation  among  us,  from  sight  or  hearing,  recol- 
lects with  what  demonstrations  of  sincere  joy  that  day  was 
celebrated  in  our  devotional  communions.  It  seemed  as  if 
the  oppressed,  tortured,  derided,  wretched  Jew  on  this  day  was 
determined  to  challenge  the  hostile  world  around  and  give  vent 


—  33  — 

to  a  defying  hilarity,  as  if  exclaiming,  "  Ye  outside  of  this,  our 
dark,  melancholy,  isolated  and  hidden,  place  of  worship,  with 
all  your  persecution  and  hatred  and  contempt  and  vexation, 
3'ou  can  not  rob  us  of  that  joy  which  has  its  seat  in  the  soul 
of  him  who  lives  in  peace  with  his  God ;  with  all  your  tor- 
tures and  pyres  and  deaths  you  could  not  make  us  desert  this 
our  banner  of  freedom ;  }^ou  could  not  dispossess  us  of  this 
treasure."  apr  n!>np  nvnm  nm  1^  mv  rmri  "  The  Law 
which  Moses  commanded  us  is  and  will  remain  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  congregation  of  Jacob."  All  the  blithe  humor 
which,  it  seems,  is  one  of  the  peculiarities  of  our  race,  would 
break  forth  on  that  day  of  rejoicing,  and  old  and  young  con- 
spired in  making  the  place  of  worship  which  but  a  few  days 
back,  had  been  the  witness  of  tears  and  contritions,  a  scene 
of  unsurpassed  though  sacred  mirth  on  the  day  when  the 
words  were  read  HDO  ui?  niv  rrnn  "  The  Law  which  Moses 
commanded  us  is  the  inherited  possession  of  the  congrega- 
tion of  Jacob." 

Now,  my  friends,  what  caused  them  so  to  rejoice  in  the  pos- 
session of  a  book  that  had  brought  on  them  nothing  but  mis- 
ery and  wretchedness? 

They  rejoiced  in  the  mission  that  God  had  laid  upon  their 
shoulders,  that  they  should  carry  it  over  the  world  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  human  race.  They  rejoiced  in  the  possession  of  a 
treasure  which  made  them  nobler  than  the  princes  and  nobles 
that  persecuted  them,  which  made  them  superior  to  their  su- 
periors and  the  teachers  of  their  enemies.  Whenever  we  cast 
a  glance  at  the  sufferings  which  our  ancestors  endured,  with 
almost  superhuman  strength,  the  question  forces  itself  on 
our  mind  :  Will  the  Jew  of  our  day,  whom  we  see  so  busily  en- 
gaged in  his  worldly  pursuits  and  to  all  appearances  so  care- 
lessly given  up  to  the  enjoyment  of  his  present  happiness, 
stand  by  his  faith  as  firm  and  unshaken,  his  holy  banner 
overhead,  should  persecutions  visit  him  similar  to  those  his 
forefathers  had  to  encounter?  Will  not  the  spoiled  child  of  the 
bright  present  cast  away  the  scroll  which  he  may  now  uplift 
witli  pride  and  frankly  show  to  all  the  world,  should  it  again 
bring  disgrace  over,  him,  instead  of  honor? 


—  34  — 

Some  may  say  it  is  an  idle  question,  since  "  the  combats 
now  rest,"  and,  let  us  hope,  will  rest  forever.  But  I  say  it  is  a 
question  well  worth  asking,  for  it  invites  self-examination,  and 
self-examination  is  never  an  idle  dream,  but  always  produc- 
tive of  reform  and  strength.  It  is  a  question  which  is  apt  to 
enhance  in  our  age  the  value  of  what  we  possess,  just  as  a 
mother  will  press  her  child  with  joy  and  affection  to  her  heart, 
when  thinking  that  somebody  might  attempt  to  snatch  it  from 
her  lap. 

And  shall  I  give  a  conscientious  answer?  It  is  my  deep- 
felt  conviction  that,  notwithstanding  the  apparent  indifference 
to  the  teachings  of  our  creed  prevailing  especially  among 
many  of  our  younger  generation,  who  having  hitherto  tasted 
but  the  amenities  of  youth,  have  not  yet  descended  into  the 
depths  of  their  own  hearts  to  which  life's  earnest  experiences 
and  visitations  invite ;  notwithstanding  their  frequent  sneers 
at  religion  and  anything  that  lifts  us  up  to  its  golden  heights  : 
persecution,  which  may  God  keep  aloof  from  us, — persecution 
would  find  those  very  indifferent  ones,  those  very  sneerers  and 
unbelievers  among  the  ready  combatants  around  the  banner 
of  the  Torah,  and  they  would  exclaim  with  the  fervor  of 
our  ancestors,  uS  mv  min  "  The  law  which  Moses  com- 
manded us,  is  and  shall  forever  remain  the  inheritance  of  the 
congregation  of  Jacob." 

From  the  beginning,  Israel,  lax  as  he  periodically  might 
have  been,  was  ever  conscious  that  he  had  a  mission  for  all 
mankind,  intrusted  to  him  by  Divine  Providence,  watching 
over  which  mission  he  may  sometimes  fall  into  drowsiness, 
but  is  sure  to  be  aroused  to  his  duty  when  the  slight- 
est noise  of  approaching  footsteps  reminds  him  of  the  pos- 
sibility of  being  robbed.  The  Law  that  Moses  commanded 
us,  as  regards  its  universal  principles,  carries  with  itself 
the  tendency  to  spread  among  all  the  human  family,  not  by 
means  of  conversion,  not  by  calling  upon  Israel  to  go  forth 
with  the  rough  sword  of  force,  or  the  bland  word  of  persua- 
sion, but  by  the  power  which  a  truth  once  placed  on  earth 
and  sternly  adhered  to  by  its  original  owners  possesses,  and 


which  advances  in  proportion  with  the  general  culture  of 
nations. 

The  Law  that  Moses  commanded  us,  is  the  inheritance  of 
Jacob's  congregation,  and  yet  tending  to  become  the  property 
of  all  nations  and  races  of  the  earth.  Is  this  not  a  contra- 
diction in  itself  ?  No ;  just  as  little  as  there  is  an  inconsist- 
ency in  a  father  appointing  his  oldest  son  the  administrator 
of  a  fortune,  the  improvement  and  increase  of  which  should 
benefit  all  his  minor  brothers  and  sisters.  It  is  a  trust  placed 
in  him,  and  why  should  not  the  father  hope  that  his  son  will 
prove  equal  to  it?  Besides,  our  sages  remark,  "  Come  and 
see  the  difference  between  worldly  goods  and  mental  posses- 
sions. As  to  the  former,  he  that  giveth  away  is  the  loser  and 
the  recipient  the  gainer ;  not  so  he  who  dispenses  intellectual 
goods ;  the  more  he  giveth  away  the  richer  he  groweth  him- 
self." Or  will  you  believe  that  a  Law  founded  on  the  Ten 
Commandments,  which  begin  with  the  unity  and  spirituality 
of  the  Lord  of  the  Universe,  and  in  the  name  of  this  Lord 
secures  truth,  property,  family,  honor,  in  short  all  that  makes 
life  worth  living ;  will  you  believe  that  such  a  law  is  destined 
only  for  one  nation  and  for  such  a  small  one  as  Israel  at 
all  times  was,  when  numbered  and  not  weighed?  Will  you 
believe  that  the  Lord  of  all  would  impart  the  foundations  of 
existence  only  to  one  people,  mindless  whether  the  others 
lived  and  grew  or  decayed  and  died?  Or  can  you  believe  that 
the  mere  existence  of  a  people  with  a  law  so  peculiar,  so  an- 
tagonistic to  the  views  of  all  around  it,  as  soon  as  it  came  in 
contact  with  others,  could  work  otherwise  but  beneficially? 

Ask  history  and  it  will  tell  you  that  not  in  vain  did  Israel 
lift  up  his  banner,  saying  :  "  And  this  is  the  Law  which  Moses 
set  before  the  children  of  Israel."  Passing  over  periods  of  re- 
mote antiquity,  which  history  has  as  yet  failed  clearly  to  il- 
lustrate— I  mean  the  period  of  the  Babylonian  captivity  and 
the  influence  our  people  must  undoubtedly  have  exercised  on 
the  rise  of  a  creed  in  Persia,  upsetting  idolatrous  statues  and 
proclaiming  the  reign  of  spirit  over  matter — let  us  commence 
with  an  epoch  distinguished  and  universally  known  for  its 
great  achievements. 


-^36  — 

When  the  .great  Alexander  opened  the  portals  separating 
nation  from  nation,  and  the  wise  and  enlightened  Greeks 
formed  the  acquaintance  of  a  people  wise  and  enlightened  in 
quite  a  different  way  :  oh,  how  great  was  their  astonishment 
at  the  sternness  of  israelitish  laws  and  the  vigor  of  Israelitish 
life  !  One  of  the  most  learned  men  of  those  days  wrote  a  hook 
on  the  Jews,  full  of  admiration  for  their  consistency,  their  holy 
and  sublime  views,  and  their  enlightenment, 

Soon  after,  the  sacred  books  of  our  Bible,  at  the  request,  it 
is  said,  of  an  Egyptian  king,  were  rendered  into  Greek,  and 
the  stream  of  Jewish  ideas  was  directed  into  a  foreign  channel. 
For  a  moment,  a  feeling  of  regret  prevailed  among  the  Israel- 
ites at  seeing  what  was  most  sacred  to  them  given  into  the 
ruthless  hands  of  strangers.  They  must  have  felt  as  parents 
feel  that  see  their  darling  child,  on  whom  all  possible  care  was 
bestowed,  start  forth  to  live  among  strangers,  when  the  anx- 
ious question  arises :  "  What  fate  will  our  darling  meet 
with?  "  Such  must  have  been  the  feelings  of  the  Israelitish 
people  when  sending  forth  their  cherished  books,  to  be  scru- 
tinized by  profane  eyes.  But  afterwards  seeing  a  new  range 
of  ideas  grow  up  in  Egypt  where  Jewish  philosophers  ranked 
among  the  foremost  thinkers,  they  said  that  there  was  no  for- 
eign language  flexible  enough  to  render  the  Biblical  ideas  ex- 
cept the  Greek. 

Their  Law  was  respected,  their  views  honored,  and  yet,  won- 
derfully enough,  their  own  share  was  persecution  from  those 
very  races  that  learning  sat  at  their  feet.  Remember  the  Mac- 
cabean  period,  and  hear  its  heroes,  lifting  up  the  Scroll,  ex- 
claim :  "  The  Law  which  Moses  has  commanded  us,  is  and 
shall  ever  be  the  inheritance  of  the  congregation  of  Jacob." 
The  light  was  appreciated  by  the  thoughtful,  but  the  torch- 
bearers  were  trampled  upon.  Remember  the  hatred  of  the 
Egyptian  Greeks  toward  the  most  enlightened  and  influential 
Egyptian  Jews  !  Remember  the  Roman  persecutions,  cruel 
as  none  before  them!  But  Israel's  wisest  men  gave  the  ex- 
ample of  endurance. 

The  way  once  paved  through  the  amalgamation  of  Jewish 
ideas  with  Greek  culture,  the  Law  went  forth  from  Zion  and 


—  37  — 

the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jerusalem,  or,  to  use  another  figure 
of  the  prophet,  the  living  waters  went  forth  from  Jerusalem, 
part  toward  the  Eastern  Sea  and  part  toward  the  Western 
Sea  of  nations,  establishing  the  religion  that  was  destined  to 
spread  westward,  and  the  other  that  took  hold  of  the  Eastern 
nations,  thus  giving  a  part  of  Jacob's  inheritance  to  two  dif- 
ferent races,  civilizing  barbarians  and  tempering  the  savage 
conquerors  that  stormed  the  decayed  Roman  world,  that  brass 
colossus  with  the  legs  of  clay. 

It  was  but  a  part  of  the  living  waters  that  was  given  to  each 
of  these  races.  I  may  say,  it  was  the  accumulated  interests  that 
the  first-born  suffered  to  be  divided  among  his  brothers,  the 
principle  still  remaining  in  his  possession  for  further  improve- 
ment. And  again  the  brother's  gift  was  honored  and  admired , 
but  the  giver  was  hated  and  persecuted. 

Who  describes  the  sufferings  through  which  our  ancestors 
passed  since  they  had  given  forth  the  two  daughter-religions? 
Exile,  slaughter,  mobs,  dungeons,  funeral  pyres,  vexatious 
laws,  contempt,  spite  ;  say  what  infernal  invention  for  excru- 
ciating soul  and  body  and  crushing  life  and  its  zest,  was  not 
turned  against  our  people,  from  the  remotest  clays  of  barbar- 
ism up  to  our  enlightened  age,  until  the  contemned  finally 
looked  contemptible,  and  those  shunned  by  men  finally  be- 
came repulsive  in  manners  and  exterior,  as  we  may  still  see 
them  in  the  countries  of  their  persecutors,  though  even  there 
always  nobler  than  their  foes  and  more  intelligent  than  the 
persecuting  mobs. 

But  up  to  our  days,  under  all  circumstances,  they  lifted  up 
the  Scroll  and  rejoicing,  said  :  u  The  Torah  which  Moses  has 
bequeathed  to  us,  is  our  everlasting  inheritance." 

Indeed,  were  it  only  this  one  idea  of  religious  liberty,  con- 
stantly agitated  through  Israel's  existence  and  resistance,  it 
alone  would  have  been  sufficient  to  give  our  people  among  the 
nations  the  seat  of  honor  as  a  benefactor  of  mankind.  Imagine, 
my  friends,  for  one  moment,  what  would  be  the  aspect  of  our 
civilized  countries  in  the  present  age,  had  Israel  yielded  to 
force,  abandoned  his  own  standard  and  station,  and  merged 


into  that  world-commanding  creed  which  said  :  1W  'DBKI  *JK 
"  I  am  and  none  besides  me."  One  religion  would,  so  far  as 
we  in  our  short-sightedness  can  conjecture,  prevail  all  over 
Europe  and  her  daughter-colonies,  opposition  to  the  doctrines 
of  which  would  mean  sure  death.  Uniformity  of  creed  would 
reign,  for  no  sects  could  ever  arise  but  for  the  liberty  of  con- 
science constantly  professed  and  combatted  for  and  kept  alive 
by  our  ancestors ;  uniformity  of  creed  would  reign,  such  as 
even  in  our  country  the  bigoted  and  blind  wish  for  as  an  im- 
agined blessing,  but  it  would  be  the  uniformity  of  death  that 
holds  its  sway  in  the  graveyard, — all  silent,  all  motionless,  no 
life,  no  exertion,  no  progress,  no  science,  no  research. 

It  was  Israel  that  set  the  example  of  resistance  to  power 
whenever  conscience  was  interfered  with,  and  instinctively 
felt  that  in  lighting  for  his  own  liberty  of  religious  profession ? 
he  was  bestowing  an  unappreciable  benefit  on  all  the  human 
race.  In  the  consciousness  of  this,  his  mission,  he  rejoiced 
at  the  Law  whenever  he  had  finished  its  pages  to  commence 
them  anew,  and  whatever  hatred  and  calumny  did  to  destroy 
him,  it  was  of  no  avail  so  long  as  Israel  did  not  abandon  him- 
self, so  long  as  he  lifted  up  his  sacred  Scroll,  exclaiming  : 
•'  And  yet  this  is  the  Law  that  Moses  placed  before  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  as  their  perpetual  inheritance." 

I  have  finished  unrolling  before  you  an  historical  picture 
worth  looking  at.  I  shall  not  ask  what  lesson  it  teaches  us,  for 
[  am  of  the  opinion  that  every  mental  occupation  has  its  object 
and  reason  in  itself,  inasmuch  as  it  elevates  the  mind  above 
the  material  world  constantly  claiming  our  attendance  and 
attention,  and  ennobles  the  heart  by  enriching  it,  I  am  no 
believer  in  the  distinction  between  practical  and  theoretical 
studies.  Every  study  has  its  practical  results,  provided  we 
look  on  culture,  refinement,  and  enlargement  of  the  mind's 
view  as  practical  benefits.  Nor  did  our  ancestors,  when  en- 
during persecution,  ask  of  what  practical  value  was  to  them 
their  Law*,  so  as  to  make  it  worth  clinging  to  a  creed  with 
such  pertinacity.  They  said:  "The  Law  that  Moses  gave 
unto  us,  is  our  inheritance,"'  and  we  will  do  likewise  : 


39  — 


"To  God  be  thanks,  the  combats  rest, 

0,  may  they  rest  forever, 
But  we  will  watch  our  sires'  bequest, 

And  leave  our  standard  never." 

uoy  irnb«  «  ^  And  may  the  Lord  our  God  be  with  us  as 
he  has  been  with  our  fathers ;  may  He  never  forsake  us  or 
al  >andon  us,  so  that  we  may  incline  our  hearts  to  Him,  walk  in 
all  his  ways,  and  observe  all  his  commands  and  statutes  and 
ordinances  which  he  commanded  our  fathers.     Amen. 


A  FEW 
THOUGHTS  ABOUT  THE  DAY  OF  REST. 


A    SABBATH    EVE    DISCOUESE. 


BY  S.  H.  SONXESCHEIX, 
i  Temple  "  Shame  Emeth,"  St.  Louis.) 


"  Keep  the  Sabbath  day  to  sanctify  it,  as  the  Eternal  thy  God  has  commanded 
thee.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work,  but  the  seventh  day  is  the 
Sabbath  belonging  to  the  Eternal  thy  God.  Thou  shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor 
thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  nor  thy  man-servant,  nor  thy  maid-servant,  nor  any  of 
thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates,  in  order  that  thy  man-servant 
and  thy  maid-servant  may  rest  as  well  as  thou.  And  remember,  that  thou  wast 
a  slave  in  the  land  of  Egypt  and  that  the  Eternal  thy  God  has  brought  thee  out 
thence  through  a  mighty  hand  and  by  a  stretched-out  arm :  therefore,  the  Eternal 
thy  God  commanded  thee  to  make  the  Sabbath-day.— [Deuteronomv,  v.  13-15. 

Once,  on  a  bright  Sabbath  morning  many  a  year  ago,  in  the 
old  country,  when  I  was  just  settled  as  a  minister  of  a  small 
but  progressive  congregation,  and  full  of  fervor  like  a  young 
soldier  burning  for  his  first  battle,  I  met  on  the  street  an  el- 
derly gentleman,  one  of  my  parishioners,  with  a  cigar  in  his 
mouth.  In  that  good  old  country,  even  at  that  recent  time, 
smoking  a  cigar  was  considered  by  many  a  profanation  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  believing  it  my  duty  to  admonish  my  parish- 
ioner, I  approached  him  seriously  and  asked  him  why  he  was 
doing  thus  on  the  Sabbath  day.  He  answered  coolly  and  with 
a  good  deal  of  humor  :  u  Why,  I  thought  you  knew  better, 
I  supposed  that  you,  a  young  rabbi,  educated  according  to  the 
standard  of  modern  views,  would  not  consider  this  a  sin  at 
all.  In  fact,"  he  continued,  "  what  is  Sabbath-breaking?  Is 
the  Sabbath  a  divine  institution?  Then  it  can  not  be  broken. 
Anything  which  is  divine  can  not  be  broken.  And  since  I  can 
break  the  Sabbath  it  is  not  worth  while  to  keen  it.  It  is 
worthy  only  to  be  broken. 

I  trembled  with  passion,  but,  composing  myself,  said  :  "  My 
friend,  do  you  believe  that  the  heart  of  a  mother  is  a  divine 


—  42  — 

institution?  "  ( >h,  yes,"  said  he,  "  Every  pulse  in  my  being 
teaches  me  that."  I  asked  him  :  "  Do  you  not  believe  that  a 
gnat  many  break  that  divine  institution,  the  mother's  heart? '' 
That  was  the  end  of  our  conversation.  But  this  apt  little 
story  of  that  winch  happened  between  me  and  my  friend — 
because  we  afterwards  became  true  friends — reminds  me  viv- 
idly of  the  indifferent  aspect  in  which  the  progressive  and 
busy  men  in  modern  times  view  the  Sabbath.  "The  Sab- 
bath,"  they  say,  "is  not  a  divine  institution,  for  it  can  be 
easily  broken,  without  any  serious  and  harmful  consequences. 
A  thing  which  is  thus  easily  broken  is  not  worth  keeping." 
This  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  all  the  argument  brought 
fi  >rward  even  by  the  thoughtful  Sabbath-breaker.  At  the  same 
time  these  thoughtful  Sabbath-breakers — I  call  them  by  that 
name  in  the  customary  sense — forget  entirely  that  Nature, 
which  is  their  mother,  is  broken  into  a  thousand  pieces  when 
the  Sabbath  is  broken.  Nature,  not  only  the  nature  around 
us,  but  our  inmost  soul,  or  soul-life,  demands  peremptorily 
that  the  Sabbath  day  be  kept.  He  who  profanes  the  Sabbath 
desecrates  nature,  stultifies  his  better  self  and  extinguishes 
that  glowing  spark  which  distinguishes  him  from  the  soulless 
and  inanimate  world  around  him. 

What  is  the  Sabbath?  A  day  of  rest.  In  fact,  every  mo- 
ment that  we  keep  aloof  from  our  labor  and  daily  task — any 
little  breathing  spell  in  our  work — is  a  Sabbath  in  miniature. 
If  you  go  on  a  Wednesday  evening,  after  three  or  four  days' 
work,  to  listen  to  a  lecturer  of  deserved  prominence,  or  to  at- 
tend a  concert  of  some  celebrated  singer,  that  is  a  Sabbath 
in  miniature;,  an  hour  or  three  of  rest.  If  you  go  to  the  art 
gallery,  and,  looking  upon  the  beautiful  works  of  master- 
hands,  forget  yourself — the  din  of  labor  beneath,  the  rattle  of 
win  ele  and  the  shrill  sound  of  steam  whistles  being  alike  un- 
heeded and  unheard — you  are  in  a  higher  sphere,  you  enjoy 
and  edify  yourself,  that  is  a  Sabbath  in  miniature.  Not  ex- 
actly the  day  of  rest,  but  an  hour  of  sublime  recreation,  for 
you  feel  stronger,  better,  purer  and  nobler  when  you  go  back 
to  your  daily  toil.  And  as  Nature  herself  has  given  to  the 
woods,  gardens  and  fields  the  nights  and  the  winter  months 


—  43  — 

in  which  to  rest  and  recreate  themselves,  so  has  she  given  to 
the  human  race  a  rational  division  of  time  in  which  to  rest 
and  gain  new  thoughts  and  powers  for  soul-work.  Four  times 
seven  days  make  a  lunar  month.  YVe  observe  in  heaven 
four  aspects  of  the  moon,  and,  since  we  could  watch  these 
different  phases,  the  human  race  universally  adopted  that  di- 
vision of  time  called  a  week,  a  term  of  seven  days,  six  foi 
labor  and  tlic  last  for  rest  and  n  en  ation.  That  is  the  origin  of 
the  Sabbath,  You  are  not  to  rest  on  the  Sabbath  day  as  Na- 
ture seemingly  does — outwardly  calm,  serene,  motionless, 
powerless.  Your  rest  must  be  recreation.  And,  in  fact,  if 
you  look  behind  the  outward  appearance  of  Nature's  rest, 
you  will  find  that  she  does  not  sleep  at  all.  What  we  call 
winter  is  only  a  co-operation  of  hidden  forces  working  beneath 
the  surface,  still  and  slow  and  sure.  And  such,  too,  is  the 
Sabbath  recreation  of  man  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word. 
He  rests,  but  not  in  sleepy  sloth,  for  his  heart,  his  soul  is. 
awake. 

A  ad  now,  lest  we  go  too  far  into  psychological  and  doc- 
trinal questions,  let  us  return  to  the  theme  before  us.  The 
SabbatJi  is  a  divine  institution.  Breaking  the  Sabbath  is  break- 
ing a  divine  law.  We  are,  many  of  us,  entirely  mistaken  in 
our  conceptions  of  the  mutual  relations  between  toil  and  rest, 
trouble  and  pleasure,  labor  and  enjoyment,  these  cardinal 
alternations  of  human  life.  For  a  great  many  who  do  not 
work  at  all,  who  only  live  for  pleasure,  this,  their  very  pleas- 
ure seems  labor.  Only  behold  and  watch  them  !  How  rest- 
less they  are,  as  if  they  had  a  thousand  different  things  to  do, 
with  hardly  a  single  moment  of  time  in  which  to  take  breath. 
You  ask  them  what  they  do  and  they  answer,  "  Oh,  I  am  en- 
joying myself;  I  have  so  much  amusement;  I  am  so  delight- 
fully situated  ;  I  am  living  for  my  own  pleasure."  A  creature 
living  for  his  own  pleasure  is  the  most  unhappy  and  hapless 
thing  in  the  world.  Others  again  we  hear  complain  :  "  Work 
is  the  burden  of  that  curse  which  drove  us  out  of  Eden,  that 
beautiful  spot  which  was  colonized  by  God  Almighty  him- 
self. That  was  a  nice  place  to  live  in,  indeed.  There,  every- 
where, grew  the  sweetest  fruits.     There  were  a  great  many 


—  44  — 

shady  nooks  in  which  to  take  a  nap  and  to  promote  digestion, 
and  there  were  so  many  nice,  innocent  games  and  plays  and 
no  trouble,  no  work  at  all !  "  It  seems,  according  to  the  real 
significance  of  that  sacred  myth,  as  though  Adam  and  Eve 
never  worked  at  all,  because  if  they  had  done  so  and  attended 
to  their  duty  in  that  Garden  Eden,  they  would  never  have 
been  driven  out.  It  was  because  they  were  lazy  and  slothful 
that  temptation  worked  their  ruin.  Work  is  not  a  burden. 
It  is  a  curse  only  to  him  who  is  a  slave  working  for  others  and 
not  for  himself,  who  has  no  will  of  his  own,  who  in  the  sweat 
of  his  brow  only  toils  and  struggles  for  the  benefit  and  pleas- 
ure of  others.  To  him  work  is  a  burden  and  a  heavy  one  in- 
deed. But  it  is  not  so  with  the  small  farmer  who  industriously 
tills  his  own  soil,  or  with  the  tradesman  who  owns  a  little 
shop  in  some  obscure  by-way  in  town.  Take  the  latter.  He 
does  not  owe  anybody  a  cent.  Everything  in  the  shop,  the 
shop  itself,  is  his  own,  and  he  works  with  a  ready  will.  How 
he  grows  !  How  his  face  beams  with  satisfaction  !  How  he 
prospers  !  He  would  not  exchange  even  with  Jay  Gould  him- 
self. He  enjoys  the  fruit  of  his  labor.  Work  to  such  a  man 
is  not  a  burden  but  a  blessing  ;  and  rest  to  such  a  man  means 
not  mere  sleep  and  oblivion,  but  active  joy  and  recreation. 
He  good-naturedly  contemplates :  ''  What  I  earn,  I  earn  for 
the  benefit  of  myself,  for  the  benefit  of  my  wife,  of  my  chil- 
dren, and  yet  I  have  something  to  spare  for  those  who  can 
not  work,  who  are  sick  and  destitute."  Work  and  rest,  week 
•  lavs  and  Sabbath  day  are  both  God-given  to  him,  and  both 
contribute  to  his  happiness  and  enlarge  his  soul-life. 

"Keep  the  Sabbath  day — and  remember  that  thou  wast 
a  slave  in  the  land  of  Egypt."  The  Sabbath  is  a  great  liber- 
ator, a  real  redeemer  of  the  human  race.  If  we  only  think 
of  rest  for  ourselves ;  if  our  recreation  has  the  same  selfish 
motives  as  our  daily  toil,  then,  of  course,  the  Sabbath  loses 
its  real  object  and  significance.  Then  we  are  proud  to  de- 
clare :  "  I  work  as  long  as  I  can.  I  work  as  opportunities 
are  good  and  to  m}'  advantage.  I  will  cease  to  work  as  soon 
as  I  have  no  occasion  so  to  do,  as  soon  as  I  shall  have  earned 
enough  to  seek  without  restraint  my   pleasures  and  enjoy- 


—  45  — 

ments.  And  what  do  I  care  for  the  Sabbath?  What  does 
God  care  for  the  Sabbath?  What  is  it  to  him  whether  I  keep 
my  day  of  rest  on  Tuesday  or  on  Friday,  or  not  at  all?  What 
is  the  difference  to  him?  I  must  make  money,  money.  They 
tell  me  money  is  the  soul  of  our  existence,  the  standard  of 
our  value.  What  am  I  without  money?  "  Of  course  you 
ate  not  much  if  you  have  no  money,  but,  my  dear  friend,  I 
tell  you,  you  are  still  more  worthless  if  you  have  no  soul.  If 
a  man  has  no  money  but  has  a  fresh,  vigorous  human  soul, 
sympathetic  to  everything  noble  and  brave,  ready  to  under- 
take, if  necessary,  the  most  self-sacrificing  act,  such  a  man, 
though  he  be  not  permitted  to  enter  the  Stock  Exchange  of 
New  York  or  London,  may  yet  be  entitled  to  the  most  noble 
human  society  that  God's  earth  has  ever  sustained.  The 
keeping  of  the  day  of  rest  liberates  you  from  the  bonds  of 
selfishness,  softens  your  harsh  impulses  and  sanctifies  your 
life.  If  you  desecrate  the  Sabbath  you  profane  yourself  by 
proving  that  you  are  the  slave  of  your  daily  task  and  not  the 
master  of  your  will ;  you  degrade  your  independence,  this 
greatest  privilege  of  your  nature,  you  separate  yourself  from 
everything  which  is  heavenly  and  only  stick  to  the  mud  and 
slum  of  this  lower  life.  That  is  wrhy  the  Sabbath  is  a  divine 
institution. 

Scoffing  will  not  do.  There  are  a  great  many  who  sneer  at 
any  well-established  law  in  human  nature.  There  are,  for  in- 
stance, some  who,  knowing  that  by  excessive  indulgence  in 
heavy  liquor  they  are  destroying  themselves,  still  go  on  in 
their  habit  till  they  have  no  power  to  resist  its  call,  and  scoff- 
ingly  say  :  "  It  won't  do  me  any  good  or  any  harm  ;  I  mean 
to  enjoy  myself  as  long  as  I  live.  What  care  I  whether  I  die 
to-morrow  or  prolong  my  life  for  a  few  years  more.  Human 
life  is  but  a  dream,  a  dreamy  nothingness."  But  that  scoffer 
burns  within  himself.  His  conscience  smites  him  at  every 
syllable  he  thus  utters.  The  greater  the  scoffer  the  more  un- 
happy he  is.  So  it  is  with  those  who  sneer  at  the  idea  of 
keeping  the  Sabbath  day  holy.  They  are  the  very  ones  who 
need  it  most,  who  are  constantly  at  work  in  the  treadmill  of 
money-making  and  the  slaves  of  that  most  oppressive  of  all 


—  46  — 

task-masters,  called  "  business."'  How  much  happier  would 
they  be  heeding  the  divine  institution  of  the  Sabbath  :  Six 
days  for  money-making  and  the  seventh  for  soul-making.  This 
is  emancipation  and  a  blessing  indeed. 

k-  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor  and  do  all  thy  work."  This  is 
as  much  your  sacred  duty  as  the  keeping  of  the  day  of  rest. 
He  who  has  nothing  to  do  during  the  week  days  can  not  keep 
any  Sabbath.  The  man  without  work  or  occupation  is  un- 
doubtedly out  of  place  in  this  world.  Only  he  who  labors 
during  the  six  days  of  the  week  can  enjoy  the  blessings  of 
tli,'  Sabbath.  And  right  here  you  must  mark  the  distinct 
words,  "  all  thy  work"  words  applicable  but  to  that  work  which 
is  entirely  under  your  own  control,  the  work  which  is  your 
own  in  fee  simple,  allotted  to  your  sole  care  and  management. 
Such  is  the  occupation  of  the  farmer,  of  the  mechanic,  of  the 
tradesman,  the  artist  and  the  like.  Their  work  is  of  a  kind 
which  by  a  well-spent  activity  during  the  week  days,  yet 
allows  the  amplest  room  for  the  day  of  rest,  the  most  comfort- 
able ease  for  recreation.  They  can  do  "  all  their  work  "  during 
the  week  for  the  given  time  or  purpose.  But  there  is  another 
class  of  men  whose  occupation  is  beyond  their  own  con- 
trol, who  can  not  do  "  all  their  work  "  at  a  given  time  and  then 
rest  on  the  Sabbath  day  with  perfect  ease.  Take  the  fireman. 
He  can  not  keep  the  Sabbath.  Conflagrations  and  the  havoc 
the  nrefiend  plays,  are  beyond  calculation.  Take  the  phy- 
sician. Just  as  much  as  he  has  to  attend  to  his  work  at  the 
midnight  hour  when  called  upon,  while  all  the  world  is  at 
rest,  just  the  same  he  will  have  to  administer  his  help  to  the 
patient  on  the  Sabbath  day  whenever  wanted.  So  the  soldier, 
so  the  statesman,  in  fact  everybody  whose  occupation  is  in- 
separably connected  with  public  affairs  and  the  incessant, 
peremptory  demands  of  public  concern.  Anyone  listening 
to  me  to-night  might  say  :  "  You  preachers  have  it  nice. 
Six  days  in  the  week  you  do  nothing  and  follow  your  occu- 
pation only  on  the  seventh  clay.  And  while  you  make  your 
living  i  >n  the  Sal  >1  >at  h,  you  tell  me  to  stay  idle."  But  in  mak- 
ing such  a  cutting  remark  my  friend  forgets  that  paying  close 
attention  to  a  good  sermon  once  or  twice  on  a  Sabbath  is  vivid 


—  47  — 

recreation  and  no  leaden  drowsiness ;  and  that  a  preacher,, 
whose  words  are  not  idle  talk,  but  spiritual  food  and  cure,  has 
plenty  to  do  to  observe  and  to  study  during  the  week,  in  order 
to  make  his  preaching  a  living  success  and  bringing  forth 
good  fruits.  In  short,  the  Sabbath  is  the  day  of  rest  for  those 
who,  during  the  week  are  deeply  concerned  with  interests  of 
their  own,  and  just  because  they  work  for  the  selfish  motives 
of  mere  gain  and  greed,  are  prone  to  become  the  slaves  of 
their  trade  and  occupation. 

Free  yourself!  Be  once  in  the  week  free  for  twentj'-four 
hours  !  Leave  money-making  for  that  one  day  and  spend  it 
in  soul-making,  in  good  cheer,  in  recreation,  in  spiritual  edi- 
fication !  For  one  day  in  the  week  leave  all  the  drudgery  and 
burdensome  toil  behind  you  and  be  free  ! 

The  Sabbath  is  a  divine  institution  and  can  be  broken,  but 
the  Sabbath-breaker  is  doing  more  harm  to  himself  than  to 
the  Sabbath.  The  Sabbath  will  remain  but  the  Sabbath- 
breaker  may  go  very  soon.  The  Sabbath  is  the  soul-making 
institution  of  our  Religion,  of  the  Religion  of  Humanity. 
From  the  faithful  and  intelligent  observance  of  this  day  of  rest 
our  religious  nature  draws  nearly  all  the  virtues  and  energies 
ivhich  contribute  so  largely  to  the  perfection  of  men  and  to  the 
glory  of  God.  Our  rabbis  of  old,  in  their  allegorizing  way  of 
teaching,  have  given  the  following  beautifully  poetic  descrip- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  institution  : 

"  Every  Friday  evening,"  they  say,  "  when  the  Sabbath  is 
ushered  in  amidst  the  dusk  and  stillness  of  the  approaching 
night,  two  angels,  the  dark  accuser  and  the  bright  defender, 
are  watching  every  household,  to  see  whether  they  are  pre- 
pared for  the  reception  of  the  Sabbath-bride,  or  not.  If  they 
meet  the  unmistakable  signs  of  the  holiday  cheer  and  peace, 
joy  and  devotion,  then  the  bright  angel  exclaims  :  '  May 
peace  and  happiness  forever  find  their  home  here !  '  And 
the  dark  angel,  the  accuser,  is  compelled  to  say  :  '  So  mote 
it  be.  Amen  ! '  Even  Satan  must  admit  the  blessedness  of  the 
pious,  devoted  Sabbath-keeper.  On  the  other  hand,  when  the 
man  goes  on  forgetting  the  Sabbath,  does  not  care  for  it  at  all, 
his  household  showing  no  sweet  tokens  of  satisfaction,  his 


—  48  — 

wife,  children  and  servants  enjoying  no  periods  of  calm  and 
quiet  repose,  then  the  dark  angel  says  :  '  Condemned  be  he 
who  so  far  forgets  himself  and  all  the  interests  of  domestic 
tenderness,  as  to  neglect  the  Sabbath.'  And  the  good  angel 
— the  pure  and  innocent  one,  who  wishes  no  harm  to  any, 
who  is  the  messenger  of  God's  grace  and  loving  kindness — 
is  obliged  to  respond,  though  with  tears,  to  the  words  of  the 
dark  angel :  '  So  mote  it  be.     Amen  !  '  " 

This,  you  will  say,  is  but  poetry.  There  is  nothing  real 
and  tangible  in  it.  Granted ;  but  poetry  of  this  kind  pro- 
duces an  effect,  even  on  the  most  prosaic  mind,  which  is  not 
easily  effaced  or  obliterated.  It  is  the  celestial  bearer  of  the 
eternal  truth  that  the  Sabbath  is  a  divine  institution. 

On  the  Sabbath  day  we  should  subdue  and  govern  passion. 
Our  passions  rule  us  through  all  the  other  days  of  the  week : 
ambition,  pleasure,  avarice,  we  give  them  scope  and  leave  to 
dominate  our  daily  lives.  On  the  Sabbath  we  should  escape 
from  their  dominion  and  dwell  in  the  serene  atmosphere  of 
rest,  peace  and  liberty. 

You  will  remember  that  the  Sabbath  commandment  says 
something  of  the  ox  and  other  kinds  of  cattle.  This  may 
serve  well  to  symbolize  our  lower  passions.  On  the  Sabbath 
these  ought  to  have  no  exercise  or  sway.  Let  them  lie  chained 
and  still  in  the  dark  and  sullen  stall  of  forced  repose. 

So,  the  man-servant  and  the  maid-servant  of  the  sacred 
text  may  typify  Will  and  Love.  These  have  been  subordi- 
nate throughout  the  week  to  lower  and  baser  passions.  The 
twilight  of  the  Sabbath  eve  is  the  signal  for  their  enfran- 
chisement. Remember,  that  their  rest  is  liberty  and  action. 
Loosen  them  !  let  them  go  free  !  Lit  soul  conquer  sense  and 
will  subjugate  passion.  Let  the  spirit  aspire  to  the  high  and 
the  holy  and  wing  its  strong  flight  to  the  besom  of  the  Infinite. 
This  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  soul.  Let  us  keep  it  for  our  dear 
souls'  sake. 

So,  too,  of  Love.  All  the  week  days  she  is  thrust  aside, 
condemned,  chained,  beaten.  Our  stern  self-seeking  gives 
her  no  room  nor  place.  On  the  Sabbath  she,  too,  is  free.  Then 
comes   the  sweet  and  placid  reunion  of  hearts.     Then  hus- 


49  — 


band  and  wife,  parent  and  child,  friend  and  friend,  neighbor 
and  neighbor  join  hands  and  kiss  hearts  with  one  another 
The  Sabbath  is  the  divine  fountain  wherein  Love  renews  her 
youth  and  reinforces  her  strength,  and  so  becomes  immortal 
even  on  the  earth.  Sabbath-desecration  is  her  death,  as  Salt- 
bath-keeping  is  her  life.  This,  if  you  will  receive  it,  is  the 
meaning  of  the  Sabbath.  This  divine  institution  changes 
not.  It  is  for  all  time  and  all  eternity.  Whoso  keepeth  it, 
keepeth  himself  from  evil.     Amen. 


THRICE  HOLY  IS  THE  LORD. 


BY  REV.  DR.  BENJAMIN   SZOLD, 

(Of  Baltimore,  Md.) 


jReligion,  like  every  other  system  of  truths  and  principles, 
has  its  foundations,  bearing  and  supporting  the  whole  super- 
structure, and  it  is  of  the  greatest  importance  to  know  which 
they  are,  and  by  what  characteristic  signs  they  can  be  rec- 
ognized as  such.     Our  guiding  standard,  in  our  search   of 
them,  must  be  one  that  is  generally  admitted.     It  would  not 
suffice  merely  to  point  out  a  certain  set  of  truths  and  declare 
them  to  be  cardinal.     Upon  whatever  ground  this  were  done, 
room  would  still  be  left  for  dispute  and  variety  of  opinions. 
Some  would  claim  pre-eminence  for  one  order  of  principles 
and  some  for  another ;  and,  indeed,  some  would  even  main- 
tain (and  the  number  of  these  theologians  is  not  small)  that 
every  detail  in  religion,  every  observance,  every  custom,  is 
fundamental.     There  is  no  such  thing,  they  say,  as  a  primary 
principle  in  religion ;  all  its  teachings,  laws,  tenets  and  behests 
are  alike  vital.     We  must,  therefore,  in  order  to  place  the  re- 
sult at  which  we  wish  to  arrive  beyond  dispute,  start  from  a 
point  conceded  by  every  thinking  man.     Whatever  will  be 
reached  then,  in  our  inquiries,   as  the  elements  of  religion. 
will  bear  the  evidence  of  its  own  truth  in  itself,  and  thus  en- 
force the  recognition  of  all. 

Let  us  then  proceed  from  Revelation.  All  have  to  admit 
that  those  truths  are  essential— and  only  those— which  are 
revealed  to  us ;  that  is,  the  knowledge  of  which  comes  to  us 
most  directly  from  within  and  without :  truths  innate  in  our 
inner  life,  latent  and  organic  in  the  life  of  nature;  truths 
dominant  in  all  the  affairs  and  relations  of  man's  world, 
through  all  the  stages  and  phases  of  its  development ;  these 


—  52  — 

must  be  acknowledged  by  all  to  be  the  basis,  to  which  every- 
thing else  that  religion  teaches  must  be  referred  in  order  to 
claim  our  recognition. 

Measured  by  this  infallible  standard,  we  may  reduce  our 
whole  system  of  religion  to  three  primary  principles:  Tfn 
<  xistence  of  God;  the  divine  origin  of  Law,  and  the  belief  in  futun 
reward  and  punishment*  These  teachings  are  the  fundamen- 
tals. Their  full  exposition  will  show  that  they  did  not  ascend 
upon  the  horizon  of  our  knowledge  at  any  stated  epoch  ;  neither 
were  they  discovered  by  human  research.  They  are  revela- 
tions, as  old  as  nature,  as  original  as  the  world  of  man  ; 
though  it  is  true  that  they  were  more  clearly  perceived  and 
more  lucidly  taught  by  some  geniuses,  especially  by  our 
prophets,  who  were  men  with  eyes,  ears  and  hearts  widely 
opened  for  all  the  wonders  and  teachings  of  creation.  To 
them  refers  the  exclamation  heard  from  out  of  the  month  of 
the  seraphim,  by  the  great  prophet  Isaiah,  whom  the  Haftarah 
of  this  Sabbath  introduces  to  us  at  the  most  solemn  moment 
of  his  life,  when  he  first  received  his  prophetic  mission.  He 
then  had  a  wonderful  vision,  which  he  describes  in  fiery  lan- 
guage. He  saw  the  Lord  seated  on  an  exalted  throne,  the 
temple  wras  filled  with  the  splendor  and  glory  of  His  majesty. 
The  seraphim  stood  round  about  him,  and,  from  mouth  to 
mouth,  swelling  into  a  powerful  chorus,  ran  the  words  : 

.mxuv  «  enp  mp  enp 

"  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts  !  "  (Isaiah  vi.  1-3). 
This  sentence  is  thus  beautifully  paraphrased  by  an  ancient 
exp<  »under  of  the  Scriptures  : 

rrrnae*  rvn  nubv  KtfnB  W2  B^np 
rrrmnji  -Qiy  njn«  by  trip 
x^y  n^ySi  nbyb  dhp 
••  Holy  in  the  exalted  skies,  the  temple  of  His  glory  :  holy 
on  earth,  the  scene  of  His  governing  strength;  holy  forever 
and  in  all  eternity." 


These  three  doctrines  are  declared  the  fundamentals  of  our  re- 
ligion by  Joseph  LTlbo  in  his  hook  Judaism,  and  are  in  Judaism  gen- 
erally accepted  as  such. 


—  5^  — 

I.  Holy  is  the  Lord  in  the  exalted  skies,  the  temple  of  His 
glory  !  All  in  nature  points  to  Him  above  as  the  Most  Su- 
preme and  the  Source  of  all  existence.  The  wonderful  liar- 
mom-  with  which  the  myriads  of  creatures  work  together, 
their  wise  arrangement,  their  usefulness,  theirbeauty  and  their 
grandeur,  strongly  and  irresistibly  impress  upon  the  human 
mind  the  idea  of  an  Infinite  Intellect,  from  whom  they  all 
emanated.  Wherever  we  look  and  whatever  we  observe  around 
us,  we  find  revealed  and  reflected  the  endless  Spirit  enthroned 
on  High.  Chance  can  not  bring  forth  works  of  wisdom ; 
chance  can  not  produce  harmony,  beauty  and  goodness.  You 
ask,  looking  around  you,  overpowered  by  the  vastness  of  the 
universe,  with  its  countless  wonders  and  splendors  :  Where 
is  God?  And  with  a  thousand  voices,  echo  answers  :  Where 
is  God  not?  Intuitively,  you  see  Him  seated  on  an  exalted 
throne  and  you  hear  the  seraphim,  standing  around  Him, 
exclaim  :  Holy  is  the  Lord  on  high  in  the  temple  of  His  glory  ! 

So  visibly  is  the  idea  of  God  stamped  upon  every  work  and 
being  of  nature  that  its  conception  entered,  or  might  have  en- 
tered, upon  the  consciousness  of  the  very  first  man,  who  had 
no  other  tutor,  no  other  source  of  knowledge  than  the  sur- 
rounding world  and  his  inner  powers.  When  Adam — let  us 
take  him  as  the  type  of  the  entire  human  family — first  opened 
his  eyes  upon  the  outer  world,  when,  looking  above,  the  vast 
arches  of  the  blue  vault,  illumined  either  by  the  wondrous 
light  of  the  sun,  or  by  the  milder  radiance  of  the  stars,  met  his 
astonished  gaze,  and  when,  casting  his  eyes  to  the  ground  in 
confused  reflection,  his  attention  was  riveted  by  the  gay  sward 
which  clothed  the  earth  with  freshness,  when  he  heard  the 
symphonic  tones  of  the  birds'  morning  song,  when  he  first 
tasted  the  luscious  fruits  which  hung  in  all  their  tempting 
ripeness  just  above  his  head,  while  he  was  held  in  the  em- 
brace of  gentle  zephyrs  and  the  genial  warmth  of  the  sun  ; 
what  could  have  been  his  thoughts,  if  they  did  not  turn  upon 
the  Unseen  Power  which  conjured  all  these  scenes  and  sights 
and  sounds  and  tastes  before  his  senses  ?  He  must  have  asked 
himself:  How  came  I  on  this  stage,  and  who  is  the  author 
of  all  these  numberless  things?     In  one  grand  chorus,  they 


all  replied:  Our  Author  resides  n*hv  KDV1B  W3  in  yon 
high  skies.  He  created  thee  and  all  thou  seest  in  the  vast 
universe  which  is  HVlMtf  JV2  the  temple  of  His  glory. 

II.  But  not  only  is  the  world  God's  residence.  He  is  also 
its  Governor.  "Holy  is  God  on  earth,  the  scene  of  His  gov- 
erning strength."  There  is  a  law  for  every  creature,  there  is 
a  design  and  a  plan  underlying  the  whole  of  creation.  Or, 
do  you  think  it  possible  that  the  spheres  would  move  in  their 
orbits  so  regularly,  and  complete  their  circuits  in  the  heavens 
with  unchanging  uniformity,  that  day  and  night,  summer  and 
winter,  warmth  and  cold,  birth  and  death,  growth  and  decay. 
would  alternate  so  accurately,  were  there  no  law  and  no 
statute? 

DTpan  n«  w  nS^  nrh  \m  |dti  pin 

"  The  Creator  instituted  statute  and  time  for  every  being  not 
to  change  its  course  and  destination."   Nature  thus  is  to  man 
a  book  of  revelation,  in  which  he  reads  God's  eternal  laws  and 
regulations  which  urge  him  to  inquire  into  the  laws  and  reg- 
ulations the  Lawgiver  has  set  to  him.     If  every  other  being 
is  subservient  to  some  immutable  law,  why  should  he,  the 
masterpiece  of  all  God's  creatures,  be  lawless,  and  destined 
to  move  on  unrestrained  and  ungoverned?     Nothing  could 
be  more  absurd  than  to  harbor  such  a  thought,     There  must 
be  some  decree  for  his  action,  too,  some  method  for  his  spir- 
itual growth  and  development.     And  where  is  this  decree 
given  and  this  method  laid  down?     They  are  not  in  heaven, 
not  beyond  the  sea;  they  are  near  to  him,  within  his  own 
heart.     The  higher  law  for  man's  guidance  is  not  the  product 
of  science,  not  the  result  of  any  laborious  research,  it  is  an 
element  of  his  mental  constitution,  an  ingredient  of  his  higher 
nature.     Even  Adam  felt,  or  might  have  felt,  the  promptings 
of  his  moral  sense  of  right  and  wrong;  he  already  recognized 
a  higher  authority  whose  voice  man  has  to  obey.     When  he 
gazed  upon  the  scene  where  he  had  been  placed,  he  must  have 
asked    himself:      Ami  perhaps  charged  by  the  Power  that 
has  placed  me  here,  to  perform  some  task,  or  have  \  no  duty 
whatever  to  fulfill,  and  can  1  roam  wildly  in  this  beautiful  gar- 


—  55  — 

den  and  do  as  pleases  my  wanton  fancy?  If  so,  what  then 
can  1)0  the  meaning  of  this  whispering  within  my  breast,  this 
commanding  and  warning  voice?  I  am  certainly  a  moral 
being  and  have  to  conform  my  doings  to  the  commands  which 
my  Creator  has  engraven  upon  the  tablets  of  my  heart. 

History  also  certifies  to  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  of  God's 
government.  We  perceive  clearly  purpose  and  plan  in  the 
annals  of  the  past.  We  observe  one  grand  design,  one  domi- 
nant thought  and  will  throughout  all  the  convulsions  and 
revolutions  of  mankind.  We  notice,  on  the  long  march  of 
time,  a  steady  progress  toward  the  better.  Every  event 
brought  man  forward,  every  incident  furthered  the  process  of 
civilization.  This  steady,  onward  march  of  humanity  evi- 
dences the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Lawgiver,  an  Endless  In- 
tellect, scheming  and  premeditating  upon  mankind's  spiritual 
growth,  and  thus  history  re-echoes  what  so  loudly  resounds 
through  the  universe  :  u  Holy  is  the  Lord  on  earth,  the  scene 
of  His  governing  strength." 

III.  Still  one  more  stay  is  necessary  to  prop  the  edifice  of  re- 
ligion. It  is  the  conviction  that  there  is  a  Hereafter,  where 
man  reaps  the  fruit  of  his  deeds.  Without  this  assurance, 
law,  duty,  virtue  and  morality  would  be  mere  empty,  mean- 
ingless sounds.  What  is  to  sustain  man  in  the  midst  of  a 
life  of  trials  and  struggles  ;  what  shall  encourage  him  to  fos- 
ter virtue  and  practice  self-abnegation,  if  he  has  not  the  be- 
lief in  a  world  of  retribution?  Here,  in  this  short  span  of 
existence,  he  experiences,  no  matter  whether  he  be  just  or 
vicious,  only  sorrows  and  troubles ;  frequently,  he  even  sees 
the  wicked  thrive,  the  rogue  enjoying  all  the  goods  of  this 
world,  while  the  righteous  bend  under  insupportable  burdens. 
If,  in  spite  of  the  adverse  circumstances  which  surround  him, 
he  is  to  remain  faithful  to  the  higher  standard  that  law  sets  to 
him,  he  must  be  sustained  by  the  hope  of  a  life  beyond. 
This  hope  is  thus  closely  allied  with  the  idea  of  law 
and  a  supreme  Lawgiver ;  He  who  directs  man  to  do  the 
right  and  to  shun  the  wrong,  rewards  him  according  to  his 
ways,  for  "  Holy  is  He  forever  and  in  all  eternity." 


—  5(5  — 

This  also  is  a  thought  which  Adam  fully  perceived,  or  might 
have  perceived,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  following  legend  in 
the  Talmud  : 

When  God  said  to  Adam  :  "  Thorns  and  thistles  shall  the 
ground  bring  forth  to  thee,"  tears  coursed  down  his  cheeks 
and  he  cried  out :  iriN  DUK3  S^KJ  mom  \)X  Shall  I  and 
my  ass  feed  from  out  of  the  same  crib?  But  when  God  com- 
pleted the  sentence  :  "  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt  thou 
eat  thy  bread,"  his  grief  subsided,     lnjn  rm pro 

The  Talmud  means  thereby  that  this  last,  apparently  more 
rigid  sentence  of  judgment,  implies  the  pledge  of  man's  higher 
destiny.  It  foretold  the  abundance  God  has  in  store  for  man, 
whom  he  charged  to  eat  bread  in  the  swreat  of  his  face.  Must  I 
work,  Adam  said,  for  the  meager  food,  which  the  ground  brings 
forth  spontaneously  for  the  animal,  must  I  toil  and  labor ; 
am  I  placed  here  to  till  the  ground,  to  cultivate  it  and  change 
all  into  a  beautiful  garden,  and  thus  leave  behind  me  foot- 
prints in  the  sand  of  time,  then  the  grave  can  not  be  my  goal, 
and  my  destiny  can  not,  like  that  of  the  ass,  be  fulfilled  here 
on  earth.  All  that  I  see  testifies  to  the  existence  of  a  God  of 
love,  mercy  and  justice ;  how  then  can  He  charge  me  with  so 
heavy  a  task  and  yet  have  no  reward  in  store  for  me?  He 
commands  me  to  work — this  is  a  privilege,  and  entitles  me  to 
claim  as  my  due  share,  eternal  felicities.  Here  below  there 
is  no  reward ;  there  must  come  a  life  when  the  beads  of  per- 
spiration will  be  wiped  off  from  my  brows,  where  imperishable 
glories  will  crown  my  head.  There  must  be  a  world  in  which 
God's  justice  will  be  fully  manifested,  where  the  faithful 
laborer  is  amply  rewarded  for  the  good  he  has  accomplished 
here  on  earth,  for  '*  Holy  is  the  Lord  forever  and  in  all  eter- 
nities." 

Thrice  holy  is  the  Lord  !  God  is  the  Source  of  existence, 
the  Author  of  Law  and  the  Dispenser  of  retribution.  These 
three  truths  are  fundamental.  Upon  them  the  edifice  of  re- 
ligion  firmly  rests.  They  are  the  criterions  of  all  truth,  the 
standards  of  all  religion.  With  these  three  primary  truths 
the  Book  of  books  opens.     The  first  chapter  describes  the  crca- 


—  57  — 

tive   process  of  God,  the  Author  of  all  being.     The  second 
represents  Him   as  the  Educator  and  Governor  of  man.  to 
whom  He  gives  His  decree,  to  mould  his  conduct  thereby. 
The  third  shows  that  God  lets  man  find  according  to  his  ways. 
These  three  elementary  principles  stamp  the  Book  of  books 
to  the   Book  of  Revelation.     It  teaches  what  is  revealed  to 
nian.  and  what  comes  to  his  knowledge  in  the  most  dired 
way.     And,  like  revelation,  so  is  this  Book  an  everlasting 
sou  roe  of  knowledge.     It  is  permanent  and  can  never  be  dried 
up.     It  can  not  be  superseded  by  any  other  creed,  nor  can  it 
be  removed  by  any  other  civilizing  factor.     In  other  creeds, 
whatever  is  true  is  not  new,  and  whatever  is  new  is  not  true. 
It  also  has  no  need  to  dread  the  ascendancy  of  science.     The 
sphere  of  this  great  factor  in  civilization  is  quite  a  different 
one.     Science  deals  with  details,  with  simple  facts  and  laws. 
Religion  teaches  the  universal,  the  constituent,  intellectual 
and  moral  elements  of  all  existence,  of  all  that  is  latent  in 
the  universe,   innate  in  man,  and  organic  to  the  history  of 
his  spiritual  growth  and  development.     Science  is  the  aggre- 
gate of  all  the  results  of  invention,  human  research  and  the 
labor  of  mind,  it  is  the  sum  total  of  all  the  knowledge  to 
which  man  has  attained  by  means  of  discursive   thought. 
Religion,  however,  teaches  what  man  perceives  intuitively, 
what  man  knows,  or  can  know,  from  ever  and  forever. 

We,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the  disciples  of  the  Prophets,  are 
the  bearers,  teachers,  priests  and  expounders  of  these  truths, 
the  permanent  foundations  of  all  truth.  The  Scriptures,  in 
our  hands,  are  the  credentials  for  our  appointment,  for  our 
prophetic  mission.  We  are  the  messengers  of  God  to  man- 
kind. We  have  to  tell  humanity  the  vision  we  see,  the  sounds 
we  hear.  We  see  God  seated  on  an  exalted  throne,  filling  the 
great  temple  of  nature  with  the  splendor  and  glory  of  His 
presence.  And  the  Seraphim,  standing  around  Him,  we  hear 
exclaiming  :  "  Holy  is  the  Lord  on  high,  holy  on  earth,  the 
scene  of  His  government,  holy  forever  and  in  all  eternity.'1 
Amen. 


SPIRITUALITY  OF  GOD'S  LAW. 


BY  KEY.  I.  L.  LEUCHT. 


Text:— Exodus  xxxii.  19-20. 

Free  at  length  from  the  Egyptian  yoke,  the  children  of  Is- 
rael rapidly  grew  into  a  nation,  for  they  acknowledged  God  to 
be  the  Lord  and  accepted  His  laws.  Awestruck,  they  had 
listened  to  the  ten  words  of  Sinai,  and  with  trembling  voices 
sent  up  to  Heaven  the  watchword  of  Judaism,  JWJ1  ITOJ 
w'  We  will  hearken  and  we  will  obey." 

But  alas,  for  human  stability  !  How  long  did  the  Israelites 
remain  loyal  to  their  vows?  The  32d  chapter  of  the  book 
of  Exodus  but  too  graphically  portrays  the  fickle  and  un- 
grateful character  of  the  national  heart. 

Moses,  the  great  hero,  deeply  impressed  with  the  solemn 
issues  of  his  days,  believed  also,  no  doubt,  that  his  people 
were  equally  imbued  with  devotion  to  the  heavenly  Deliverer. 
He  seems  to  have  acted  on  this  persuasion  if  not  conviction ; 
for  in  order  to  get  engraven  on  tablets  of  stone  the  perfect 
laws  which  had  been  transmitted  to  us,  he  withdrew  himself, 
as  we  learn,  to  mount  Sinai  for  a  season. 

This  absence  tried  the  faith  of  the  nation,  and  unhappily 
the  best  proved  their  weakness.  The  judgment  of  God 
had  not  taken  root  in  the  Jewish  breast.  The  lofty  and 
world-embracing  teachings  of  Jehovah  had  not  yet  penetrated 
the  soul  of  Israel.  To  the  growing  nation  the  Lawgiver  is  the 
incarnation  of  Deity.  To  the  ignorant,  demoralized  slave, 
the  cardinal  truth,  that  a  spiritual  God  created  the  heav- 
ens and  the  earth,  is  altogether  inconceivable.  With  the  per- 
son of  Moses,  therefore,  departed  also  the  spirit  of  Moses. 


—  60  — 

\\'il«l  and  horror-stricken,  the  people  imagined  that  his  ab- 
sence was  an  awful  intimation  to  them  that  they  were  for- 
saken of  God  Himself.  They  therefore  clamored  for  gods  to 
go  before,  gods  that  would  not  leave,  gods  who  would  not 
forsake  them.  Aaron,  the  peace-loving  and  meek  brother  of 
Moses,  whose  life  no  doubt  in  this  trying  emergency  was  in 
imminent  peril,  demanded  gold  and  silver,  ostensibly  to  mould 
the  idol.  This  yielding  to  the  popular  will,  however,  was 
only  an  apparent  concession.  He  would  throw  oil  on  the 
troubled  waters,  and  as  our  sages  narrate,  he  did  not  believe 
that  the  daughters  of  Israel  would  part  with  their  jewels. 
This  persuasion  was  verified  by  the  event.  The  infuriated 
men,  however,  took  by  force  what  was  denied  to  entreaty  and 
command.  They  stripped  their  wives  of  all  their  ornaments 
and  gave  them  to  Aaron,  who,  in  a  moment  of  despair,  cast 
the  golden  calf. 

Now,  returning  from  the  mountain  with  the  JVQn  'S  Moses 
as  he  drew  near  the  camp  heard  strange  sounds  of  festivity 
and  rejoicing.  The  shouts  of  the  people,  who  were  dancing 
around  their  newly-made  Deity,  reached  him,  afar  off. 

And  here  let  us  pause  to  contemplate  that  reverend  sage, 
whose  face  reflected  the  sheen  of  the  Divine  presence,  when 
his  eye  and  ear  fully  took  in  the  frenzy  and  intoxication  of 
his  people,  who,  before  their  idol-god,  continued  loudly  to 
exclaim :  hmv*  yrhx  n^N  "  This  is  the  God  of  Israel." 

Anger  of  the  noblest  kind  characterizes  his  every  feature. 
amazement  and  indignation  take  possession  of  his  soul,  and 
in  his  righteous  displeasure,  commanding  the  faithless  offend- 
ers to  destroy  their  sin,  he  casts  down  and  breaks  into  pieces 
that  Law  divine  which  was  engraven  on  the  tablets  in  his 
hands,  and  at  the  same  time  causes  the  idol  to  be  ground  to 
powder  and  be  mingled  with  the  sands  of  the  desert. 

Now.  in  carefully  perusing  this  historical  incident,  the  ques- 
tion arises  :  Why  did  Moses  annihilate  the  golden  calf  and  at 
the  same  time  break  to  pieces  the  law  of  God?  We  could 
readily  supply  a  motive  for  his  actions  had  he  ground  the 
idol  to  dust  and  in  its  place  erected  God's  divine  teachings. 


—  <>1  — 

Why   destroy  a  work   which  Moses  himself  declared  to  be 
written  D\"iSx  JDVK  -3  with  the  finger  of  God? 

Now  I  desire  and  propose  in  this  discourse  to  prove  that 
the  destruction  of  the  idol  and  the  tablets  of  the  covenant 
had  one  and  the  same  end  in  view,  to  teach  the  fundamental 
doctrine  of  all  revealed  religion,  that  God's  law  is  altogether 
spiritual.  To  show  this  from  the  historical  incident  above 
narrated,  is  the  task  for  this  evening's  hour. 


I. 

By  destroying  the  golden  calf,  Moses  inculcated  the  due- 
trine  that  God's  law  is  spiritual.  It  must  he  clear  to  any 
candid  mind,  though  no  high-sounding  name  or  authority 
can  be  quoted  in  favor  of  this  opinion,  that  Moses,  when  re- 
turning from  Mt.  Sinai  was  not  overcome  by  sinful  anger  on 
discovering  the  Egyptian  idol  in  the  midst  of  his  excited  peo- 
ple. From  no  wrathful  impulse  or  disappointed  hopes  did  he 
with  a  mighty  hand  destroy  the  golden  image.  The  Bible 
says :  The  Lord  spoke  to  Moses :  "  Get  thee  down,  for  thy 
people,  which  thou  hast  brought  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt. 
have  become  corrupt.  And  now  let  me  alone  and  my  wrath 
shall  wax  hot  against  them  and  I  wTill  make  an  end  of  them." 
But  Moses,  dreading  nothing  so  much  as  the  execution  of 
this  Divine  menace,  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  Lord,  covered 
his  head  and  with  trembling  voice  exclaimed  :  "  Oh,  Lord, 
forgive  their  sin,  but  if  not,  blot  me  out,  I  pray  thee,  from  the 
book  which  thou  hast  written." 

Here  then  is  evidence  that  this  great  Moses  must  have 
found  the  sin  of  the  people  at  least  pardonable.  And  why? 
The  records  of  antecedent  ages  will  furnish  the  answer  to  this 
inquiry.  See  in  their  tents  encircling  Mt.  Sinai,  the  children 
of  Israel,  with  careworn  faces  and  stupified  looks.  Whence 
come  these  mighty  hordes?  From  the  land  of  Egypt,  the  house 
of  bondage,  where  they  had  been  in  slavery  during  four  hun- 
dred years.  They  had  borne  the  iron  fetters  of  despotism  for 
centuries,  forsaken  by  that  glorious   God   of   their  fathers. 


whom  they  had  also  forgotten.  Now  in  the  land  of  their  cap- 
tivity, in  Egypt,  they  had  with  their  own  eyes  seen  gods, 
which  to  their  minds  blessed  and  protected  the  nation. 
Israel,  the  servant  of  Jehovah,  was  the  slave,  while  the  wor- 
shiper of  false  gods  of  idols,  was  the  master.  And  this  per- 
suasion remained  until  Moses  appeared  and  liberated  them 
in  the  name  of  that  God  who  seemed  to  have  departed  from 
them.  As  long  as  the  Israelites  beheld  Moses,  as  long  as 
he  was  in  presence  before  them,  he  was  to  them  the  very  in- 
carnation of  God  Himself.  We  learn,  however,  that  Moses 
stayed  away  during  forty  days  and  forty  nights,  and  then  Is- 
rael no  doubt  reasoned  :  "  Our  God  has  forsaken  us  again. 
He  has  left  us  without  a  master  and  without  a  guide."  They 
gathered  about  the  hut  of  Aaron.  Terror-stricken,  they  ex- 
claimed :  "  Up,  make  us  gods  that  shall  go  before  us,  for  as 
far  as  this  man  Moses,  who  brought  us  up  here,  we  know  not 
what  has  become  of  him.  We  desire  gods  to  go  before  us, 
we  must  perceive  them  with  our  senses  and  have  them  al- 
ways in  our  midst." 

At  one  glance,  as  it  seems,  Moses  took  in  all  the  circum- 
stances of  the  actual  situation.  His  surprise,  indignation  and 
grief  were,  doubtless,  great ;  but,  did  he  lose  his  self-possess- 
ion? The  meekest  man  on  the  face  of  the  earth  did  not  give 
away  to  unbounded  wrath  even  at  the  thanklessness  of  those 
whom  he  had  rescued  from  bondage,  whom  through  mighty 
wonders,  he  had  safely  conducted  to  life,  freedom  and  peace. 
As  we  have  already  observed,  foreseeing  God's  righteous  dis- 
pleasure, he  could  even  pray  for  the  daring  offenders.  The 
golden  calf,  however,  was  doomed.  It  was  ground  into  dust 
and  strewn  upon  the  waters,  to  teach  the  misguided  people 
that  Adonai  aloneis  God— that  no  image,  no  idol,  no  likeness, 
can  be  made  of  him  who  has  said:  UI  am  the  Lord  and 
thou  shall  have  no  other  gods  before  my  face." 


II. 

The  divine  nature  is  spiritual.  The  incomprehensible  God- 
head can  not  be  bound  or  conceived  by  the  senses.     And  thus 


far  our  position  has  not  been  very  difficult  to  sustain,  for  the 
destruction  of  an  idol  can  only  be  construed  as  an  argument 

in  favor  of  the  God  of  Moses,  for  the  honor  of  God  and  the 
vindication  of  His  law.  "  Thou  shall  have  no  other  godsbe- 
fore  me."  But  to  proceed,  we  further  maintain  that  the  an- 
nihilation of  the  two  tables  of  the  covenant  was  intended  to 
promulgate  within  the  camp  of  Israel  the  same  doctrine,  the 
doctrine  of  the  spirituality  of  God's  nature,  on  which  we  now 
insist. 

It  is  well  known  that  Moses  was  a  man  of  quick  sensibili- 
ties. Whenever  the  principles  of  truth  and  justice  were  at- 
tacked he  hesitated  not  to  apply  the  proper  remedy,  without 
fear  or  favor.  The  Egyptian  who  had  beaten  an  Israelite 
atoned  for  his  offense  by  death.  The  Sabbath-breaker  was 
immediately  executed,  and  thousands  dyed  with  their  blood 
the  burning  sand  of  the  desert,  because  they  obstinately  re- 
fused to  obey  the  laws  of  God.  The  maxim  of  Moses  was 
inn  riN  pn  nip1  "  Right  pierces  even  through  mountains." 
Xow  the  sin  of  the  Israelites  was  the  occasion  for  manifest- 
ing this  leading  feature  of  the  temper  of  Moses.  His  anger 
was  awakened  by  their  rebellion  against  God,  and  as  we  have 
seen,  it  was  justifiable.  His  spirit  was  stirred  within  him  be- 
cause the  Israelites  had  forsaken  the  path  of  duty  and  safety, 
and  following  the  imagination  of  their  own  hearts,  they  were 
eagerly  pursuing  the  highway  back  to  slavery  and  to  death. 

Moses  did  not,  however,  conclude  from  this  revolt  that  no 
beneficial  result  could  be  attained,  when  a  nation  thus  will- 
fully forget  their  God,  even  in  the  short  space  of  forty  days. 
Did  he  break  the  tables  of  the  Covenant  into  fragments  as  a 
sign  that  he  has  now  lost  all  hopes  in  the  future  of  Israel? 
God  forbid !  I  would  incline  to  this  view  indeed,  perhaps, 
had  he  not  in  the  very  moment  of  his  displeasure,  prayed  to 
God,  saying  :  "  Forgive  thy  people,  or  blot  me  out  of  exist- 
ence." Surely  Moses  must  have  had  a  firm  belief  in  the 
sublime  mission  of  Israel,  otherwise  his  prayer  was  but  a  sol- 
emn mockery,  an  act  void  of  any  purpose.  And  here,  per- 
haps, some  one  will  object,  and  say  :  "  If  Moses  did  indeed 
hope  in  the  regeneration  of  Israel,  how  came  it  that  he  de- 


—  64  — 

stroyed  the  two  tables  of  the  Law,  which  according  to  his  own 
word,  had  been  written  by  God  himself,  which,  therefore,  be- 
longed not  to  Moses,  but  were  the  property  of  the  whole  na- 
tion? "  This  objection  may  thus  be  met:  By  reducing  the 
golden  idol  to  dust.  .Moses  had  but  shown  that  the  gods  of 
Egypt  were  nothing  but  vanity,  nothing  but  the  handiwork 
of  man,  and  therefore  unfit  for  adoration.  Again,  in  his  hands 
he  held  two  tables  of  stone,  engraven,  as  he  said,  with  the 
finger  of  God.  And  yet  the  people  being  strongly  in- 
clined toward  idolatry,  may  have  so  reasoned  :  "  We  were 
indeed  at  fault  in  worshiping  the  golden  calf,  but  here  Moses, 
our  leader  and  guide,  brings  us  an  idol  of  stone ;  surely,  this 
is  the  God  of  Israel  come  back  again  to  us."  The  Israelites, 
we  repeat,  were  but  newly  emancipated,  they  were  accustomed 
to  see  gods  with  their  bodily  eyes.  The  gods  with  which 
they  were  familiar  had  been  within  reach  of  their  senses,  and 
so  they  were  ready,  from  a  holy  terror,  to  fall  down  and  wor- 
ship the  tables  of  stone  as  they  had  done  the  golden  calf. 
It  offered  an  example,  therefore,  worthy  of  him  of  whom  it  is 
said :  TO  HCrtDD  Dp  kS  "  No  man  like  him  will  adore  the 
world  again."  Moses,  in  their  very  presence,  broke  into  frag- 
ments that  work  which  they  certainly  considered  to  be  an 
essential  part  of  their  religion.  And  this  act  spoke  with  a  liv- 
ing tongue  :  u  0  Israel,  I  have  destroyed  your  Egyptian  idol, 
but  perchance  in  your  vain  imagination  you  deem  the  God  of 
Israel  to  be  in  need  of  stone  or  gold  to  establish  this  kingdom 
in  this  world.  Sons  of  Jacob,  behold  torn  into  fragments  the 
material  forms  of  the  divine  Law.  Look  to  the  heart  only, 
whereon  all  the  divine  commandments  must  be  inscribed.  God 
and  God's  will,  His  only  image,  must  be  sought  for  in  the 
integrity  and  purity  of  man's  soul.  The  divine  rule  is  not 
treasured  up  in  books,  it  is  not  confined  to  tables  of  stone  or 
of  gold,  neither  is  it  enshrined  in  a  holy  ark.  God  and 
the  laws  of  God  are  all  of  them  spiritual."  And  once  more, 
[f  we  accept  this  interpretation  of  the  course  of  Moses,  we 
shall  find  it  to  be  as  a  golden  key  to  open  that  mysterious 
phrase  of  the  Talmud,  (mi?  87) :  "  When  Moses  had  broken 
the  tables  of  the  covenant,  God  said  to  him,  miW  iro  it?" 


—  65  — 

Thou  hast  done  well  this  act  of  destruction."   It  does  not  re- 
quire now  to  take  refuge  in  cabbalistic  mysticism  to  under- 
stand this  phrase  of  the  Talmud,  we  comprehend  fully  what 
our  sages  desire  to  convey.     The  spirit  of  God,  the  genius  of 
our  religion,  extolled  Moses  for  his  courageous  act,  for  by  this 
zeal  he  showed  that  our  faith  could  not  be  endangered  even 
should  every  emblem,  the  very  book  of  the  Law  itself,  be  de- 
stroyed, and  thus  removed  from  our  sight.     Moses  won  the 
praise  of  our  Lord.     He  has  left  for  our  edification  a  vivid 
and  brilliant  declaration,  a  prophetic  declaration,  that  forms 
must  yield  whenever  they  are  in  the  way  of  God's   truth. 
The  Rock  of  Israel  can  only  be  conceived  by  the  spirit  as  a 
spirit.     The  tables  of  the  covenant  were  hewn  a  second  time. 
Where  are  they?     What  has  become  of  them?     They  also 
were  destroyed  as  the  golden  calf.     The  laws  of  the  decalogue, 
they  still  exist  and  are  destined  to  govern  this  universe  until 
the  last  soul  shall  enter  its  last  resting  place.     Thus  let  our 
religion  be  a  faith  not  depending  on  outward  forms,  they  are 
only  essential  when  the  living  spirit  of  our   God   is  found 
within  its  fold,  and  must  be  shattered  to  fragments  when  the 
Vlpn  rm  the  holy  spirit  does  not  dwell  there  any  more.     Let 
our  faith  forever  be  an  D"n  yV  a  living  tree,  whose  branches  rise 
heavenward,  and   whose  time-beaten  stem  points  to  the  One 
Father,  the  God  of  all  mankind.     Amen. 


JEWISH  IDEAS  CONQUER  THE  WORLD. 


A  SIIABUOTH  SERMON. 


BY  REV.   DR.  B.  FELSENTHAL, 

(0/  Chicago.) 


Text:—"  Ye  are  my  witnesses,  says  the  Lord    *    *    I,  I  am  the  Lord,  and  besides 
me  there  is  no  savior."— [Isaiah  xliii.  10-11. 

The  festival  which  we  celebrate  to-day  bears  the  biblical 
name,  ''Hag  ha-Shabuoth,  "  Feast  of  Weeks,"  and  this  name 
has  been  given  to  it  because  on  this  day  concluded  the  seven 
weeks  which,  according  to  the  old  Mosaic  law,  had  been  de- 
voted to  the  work  of  garnering  in  the  grain.  As  long  as  the 
Jews  had  been  a  nation  in  the  political  sense  of  the  word,  and 
had  as  such  dwelt  in  Palestine,  all  the  grain  of  the  land  was 
gathered  in  during  these  seven  weeks.  Full  were  the  barns 
of  barley,  of  rye,  and  of  wheat.  And  now  a  proper  time  for 
a  festive  day  had  come — the  time  for  'Hag  ha-Shabuoth. 

Besides  the  name  u  Feast  of  Weeks,"  we  meet  in  the  Bible 
with  another  name  for  this  festival.  It  is  also  called  Yom  ha- 
Biccurim,  "  Day  of  the  First  Fruits."  And  the  reason  for 
calling  it  so,  was  because  of  the  various  kinds  of  fruits  the 
first  ripe  ones  were,  in  this  time  of  the  year,  brought  as  a 
thank-offering  into  the  temple  of  the  Lord. 

From  the  two  names  quoted  it  is  easily  to  be  inferred,  and 
hardly  do  we  need  any  other  witness  to  prove  the  fact,  that  this 
day  was  originally  intended  to  be  an  agricultural  festival.  In 
the  course  of  historical  development,  however,  it  lost  its  origi- 
nal signification,  and,  in  post-biblical  times,  other  ideas,  even 
higher  and  nobler  than  those  that  in  the  first  caused  the  in- 


—  68  — 

stitution  of  *l£ag  ha-SltabuotJi,  became  connected  with  this 
day.  Since  times  immemorial,  Israel  celebrates  the  day  as 
Zeman  Mattan  Torah,  as  a  day  on  which  the  fact  is  to  be  com- 
memorated that  God  blessed  Israel  with  the  Torah,  and  espe- 
cially do  we  on  this  day  gratefully  remember  the  proclaiming 
of  the  ten  Sinaitic  words. 

Truly,  dear  friends,  the  Lord's  Torah  and  the  Lord's  com- 
mandments, they  are  fruits  of  an  infinitely  higher  value  than 
barley  and  wheat.  For  not  of  bread  alone  does  man  live. 
He  yearns  after  another  nourishment,  after  a  nourishment  for 
the  spirit  that  is  within  him.  With  all  our  hearts  do  we  praise 
our  good  Father  in  heaven  for  the  corn  and  the  wheat,  the 
bread  and  the  wine  He  blesses  us  with.  Still  more  do  we 
praise  Him  for  the  gift  of  religion,  the  true  bread  of  life, 
wherewith  He  stills  the  hunger  of  our  hearts,  and  for  the  wine 
of  our  Torah,  Wherewith  he  quenches  the  thirst  of  our  souls. 

Truly,  this  was  a  great  time  of  harvesting,  when  the  eternal 
doctrines  and  laws  of  Judaism  were  gathered  in  first  by  a 
few  select  ones  in  Israel,  by  our  patriarchs  and  prophets,  by 
our  singers  and  .sages,  afterwards  by  all  Israel,  and  still  later 
by  other  nations.  This  harvest-time  will  be  at  an  end  when 
finally  all  mankind  will  participate  in  the  full  possession  and 
enjoyment  of  the  treasure  of  Judah,  in  the  truth  and  moral 
law  of  Judaism,  and  when  the  whole  human  race,  in  common 
with  the  house  of  Jacob,  will  walk  in  the  light  of  God,  the 
Eternal. 

In  the  golden  age  of  mankind,  which  was  not  in  the  remote 
past,  as  we  are  told  by  Grecian  myths,  but  which,  rather,  will 
be  in  the  future,  or,  to  use  Biblical  language,  in  the  Messianic 
time  coming,  Jewish  ideas  will  have  conquered  the  world  and 
will  rule  it. 

Thus  far  Jewish  ideas  have  already  progressed  wonderfully. 
They  are  already  acknowledged,  willingly  or  unwillingly,  by 
the  nations  standing  highest  on  the  ladder  of  civilization — by 
those  nations  that  profess  Christianity  or  Mohammedanism, 
while  and  because  they  profess  the  same.  For  both  these  re- 
ligions are  nothing  more  nor  less  than  direct  offsprings  from 


—  69  — 

Judaism,  and  whatever  is  good  and  true  in  them  they  have 
directly  appropriated  from  the  treasures  of  Judah.  We,  from 
our  Jewish  standpoint,  only  regret  the  fact  that  the  Jewish 
doctrines,  when  borrowed  by  others,  were  not  carefully  guarded 
against  adulteration  by  and  intermixture  with  foreign  ele- 
ments, with  elements  un-Jewish  and  anti-Jewish.  Time,  how- 
ever, slowty  but  surely  will  effect  a  thorough  purification,  and 
pure  and  unadulterated  Jewish  ideas,  we  repeat  it,  will  finally 
rule  the  world. 

These  are  great  hopes,  and  you  might  gainsay,  will  they, 
indeed,  be  realized?  Are  these  hopes  not  based  upon  self- 
deception  and  illusions?  Are  these  expectations  not  brought 
forth  by  our  prejudices  naturally  entertained  in  favor  of  the 
religion  in  which  we  have  heen  reared? 

In  order  to  show  you,  my  friends,  that  we  may  truly  expect 
the  fulfillment  of  our  hopes,  let  us  examine  the  teachings  of 
Judaism,  and  let  us  furthermore  see  in  how  far  the  present 
state  of  the  religious  world  justifies  our  hopes. 

I  invite  you,  first,  to  a  thorough  examination  of  Judaism. 
Whosoever  studies  Judaism  earnestly,  be  he  Jew  or  non-Jew ; 
whosoever  frees  himself  of  his  erroneous  notions  concerning 
the  same,  and  becomes  familiar  with  its  tenets,  will  surely, 
and  must  surely,  admit  that  Judaism  justly  claims  the  pos- 
session of  absolute  truth,  and  that,  therefore,  its  doctrines 
and  teachings  deserve  to  become  the  property  of  mankind. 
And  as  truth  in  the  end  will  always  be  victorious,  so  will  Ju- 
daism certainly  be  victorious. 

We  will  not  deny  that  true  and  good  doctrines  are  also 
maintained  and  are  also  taught  in  other  religious  systems. 
Gladly  do  we  admit  that  eternal  truths  and  moral  precepts 
are  taught  even  by  those  heathenish  religious  systems  whose 
origin  and  growth  we  can  not  trace  back  to  the  religion  of 
Israel,  and  whose  holy  books  have  not  the  least  connection 
with  the  Bible  of  the  Jews.  Justly  we  may  assert  that  the 
so-called  New  Testament  of  the  Christians  and  the  Koran  of 
the  Mohammedans  would  not  and  could  not  exist  if  our  Jewish 
Bible  had  not  existed  before  them.  But  neither  the  Brahmans 


-70- 

with  their  Vedas,  nor  the  Parsees  with  their  Zendavesta, 
neither  the  Buddhists  with  their  Tripitaka,  nor  the  (Chinese 
with  their,  to  them,  holy  books  of  Confucius  and  Laotse,  are 
in  the  least  connected  with  Israel  and  its  Torah.  Still  we 
joyfully  concede  that  by  them  many  true  doctrines  are  taught 
and  many  good  laws  are  prescribed,  which  deserve  all  ac- 
knowledgment. Even  more,  even  those  religious  systems 
which  have  not  produced  any  holy  books  at  all — holy  in  the 
sense  as  used  in  reference  to  the  writings  already  named — as, 
for  instance,  the  religions  of  Hellas  and  Rome,  of  the  Teutons 
and  the  Celts,  of  the  Africans  and  Indians,  etc.,  even  they 
were  the  vehicles  to  spread,  in  some  degree,  truth  and  mor- 
ality, and,  therefore,  our  appreciation  is  due  to  them  also. 
How  could  it  be  otherwise?  The  Creator  has  bestowed  on  all 
nations  and  all  individuals  thereof  a  conscience,  and  has 
blessed  them  with  mental  faculties  more  or  less  exalted.  These 
faculties  of  the  mind  and  this  inborn  consciousness  of  what 
is  right  and  what  is  wrong,  although  they  are  more  or  less 
liable  to  err,  are  the  common  root  whence  have  grown  the 
manifold  truths  found  everywhere,  and  it  is  a  theory  quite 
unnecessary  and  quite  false  to  suppose  that  one  nation  must 
have  borrowed  the  same  from  another  nation.  Different  na- 
tions have  discovered  them  independently  of  one  another. 
But  what  we  claim  is  this,  that  besides  these  grains  of  truth, 
which  are  to  be  found  in  the  non- Jewish  systems,  there  are 
also  to  be  found  there  great  masses  of  errors,  intellectual 
ones  and  moral  ones,  of  which  Judaism,  and  only  Judaism 
is  free. 

There  is  none  entitled  to  pronounce  judgment  in  this  all- 
important  issue  except  the  God-enlightened  human  reason. 
To  this  judge  do  we  appeal.  Before  his  bench  we  plead  our 
cause. 

It  is  not  often,  my  dear  friends,  that  we  make  such  com- 
parisons. We  do  not  undervalue  the  blessings  which  the 
powerful  daughters  of  Judaism  have  brought  to  the  nations 
in  the  East  and  in  the  West,  We  like,  rather,  to  dwell  upon  the 
great  merits  and  historic  importance  of  these  forerunners  of 


—  71  — 

the  Messianic  times,  and  we  render  unto  them  praise  and 
thanks  for  their  deserts.  But  when  we  so  often  perceive  that 
partly  malice,  partly  ignorance  and  prejudice,  and  partly  an 
ill-directed  zeal  for  un-Jewish  doctrines,  lead  to  belittleings 
and  attacks  of  our  own  Judaism,  then  we  are  certainly  justi- 
fied when  we  point  to  our  creed  shining  in  brilliancy  and  in 
glory. 

What  does  Judaism  teach?  Does  it,  indeed,  teach  that 
God  is  merely  the  national  God  of  Israel?  Does  it  not,  on 
the  contrary,  say  and  repeat,  the  Lord  alone  is  God,  and  be- 
sides Him  there  is  none  other?  Brethren,  I  can  not  stop,  in 
this  short  hour,  to  furnish  the  proofs  for  all  this.  Hints  must 
suffice  for  to-day.  And  so  I  say.  in  a  few  words,  Judaism 
teaches  since  its  very  earliest  days  one  God— one  God  for  all 
mankind!  This  does  not  exclude  the  fact  that,  in  times 
long  gone  by,  the  Monotheistic  idea  was  more  or  less  imper- 
fectly understood  by  the  unlearned  and  unthinking  part  of  the 
people.  Does  our  religion  really  teach  that  our  God  is  a  God 
of  anger  and  revenge?  Does  it  not,  on  the  contrary,  say  by 
the  mouths  of  all  its  inspired  prophets  and  all  its  teachers, 
that  God  is  a  God  of  mercy  and  of  love?  Does  it  not.  in  a 
categorical  imperative,  demand  of  its  confessor :  Love  thy 
neighbor,  even  the  poor  and  forsaken  stranger,  as  thyself,  and 
grant  to  him  equal  rights  with  thee?  Does  it  not  unrelent- 
ingly insist  that  we  have  to  sanctify  even  our  desires,  even 
the  very  thoughts  of  our  hearts,  by  enjoining  us  not  to  covet 
what  belongs  to  our  neighbor?  Does  it,  furthermore,  not  re- 
quire of  us,  in  several  laws  that  have  been  laid  down  in  the 
Pentateuch,  to  be  merciful  toward  the  mute  animal  creation? 

Brethren,  we  might  go  on  with  similar  questions  for  quite 
a  length  of  time,  we  could  challenge  the  opposite  world  to 
answer  them,  and  in  the  greatest  composure  of  mind  we  could 
await  the  answers. 

But  it  might  be  said  that  similar  doctrines  and  simi- 
lar laws  are  taught  by  others  as  well,  and  particularly  by  that 
powerful  daughter  of  Judaism  to  whom,  at  present,  nearly 
all  the  occidental  world,  nearly  all  Europe  and  America  pay 


—  72  — 

homage.  If  this  is  so,  we  see  therein  the  progress  of  Jewish 
ideas.  For  Christianity,  in  its  main  parts,  and  its  best  parts, 
is  nothing  else  than  Judaism,  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  admit 
that  it  also  effected,  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  a  great  pro- 
gress in  so  far  that  it  abolished  petrified  laws  and  hollow  for- 
malities, when  that  party  in  early  Christianity,  whose  leader 
and  mouthpiece  was  the  apostle  Paul,  gained  the  upper-hand 
over  an  opposite  party,  and  in  so  far  we  ought  to  profit  by  the 
example.  But  Christianity  branched  off  from  the  mother 
Church  and  went  astray,  when,  especially  by  the  same  Paulin- 
ian  party,  foreign  elements  were  intermixed,  when  the  fanciful 
reveries  of  the  Xeoplatonic  school  of  philosophers  and  the 
bottomless  speculations  of  the  Gnostics  were  ingrafted  upon 
our  rational,  pure  and  noble  Judaism,  and  when,  in  order  to 
make  it  more  palatable  to  the  heathens  of  Europe,  it  did  not 
shrink  from  admitting  ito  its  body  such  doctrines,  which  we, 
from  our  Monothestic  standpoint,  must  necessarily  call  idola- 
trous. 

Do  we  Jews  teach  a,  god  incarnate?  a  god  who  ate  and 
drank,  and  slept,  and  suffered,  and  died?  a  god  by  whose  blood 
the  sins  of  mankind  were  atoned  for?  Do  we  teach  that  our 
God  is  so  cruel  as  to  give  over  to  eternal  perdition  those  that 
do  not  believe  as  we  do?  Do  we  not,  on  the  contrary,  explic- 
itly teach  that  every  good  man,  of  whatever  creed  or  nation- 
ality he  may  be,  will  participate  in  salvation?  Does  Judaism 
curse,  or  damn,  or  persecute  any  non-Jew  on  account  of  his 
religious  views?  Do  we  state,  or  claim,  that  any  man  is,  or 
was,  infallible?  Is  Judaism  in  conflict  with  science?  Does 
it  not  grant  to  the  scientific  inquirer  the  fullest  and  most  un- 
limited freedom?  A  Galileo  and  Copernicus,  a  Darwin  and  a 
Huxley,  a  Hajckel  and  a  Virchow,  can  follow  their  researches 
unmolested  by  Judaism,  and  the  astronomer  and  the  geolo- 
gist, the  speculator  on  the  age  of  the  human  race  and  on  the 
age  of  the  world,  on  the  origin  of  species  and  on  the  origin 
of  languages  can  proceed  with  his  studies  without  meeting 
any  interference  or  any  protest  from  our  side.  There  is  noth- 
ing like  a  credo  in  Judaism  that  might  stand  as  an  obstacle 


—  73  — 

in  the  way  of  the  searcher  after  truth.  There  is  only  one  doc- 
trine which  is  regarded  in  Judaism  as  firm  and  unshakable — 
the  doctrine  of  the  one  supernatural  and  preternatural  God. 
And  there  is  only  one  kind  of  laws  for  which  unchangeability 
is  claimed — the  moral  laws.  And  these  laws  we  might  sum 
up  in  one  sentence  :  Sanctify  your  thoughts  and  actions.  Or, 
as  the  Bible  has  it :  "  Ye  shall  be  holy,  for  holy  am  I,  the 
Lord,  your  God."  This  being  the  state  of  facts,  we  again 
ask :  Is  Judaism  in  anywise  on  any  point,  inimical  to 
science? 

And  again  we  might  go  on  with  our  questions ;  again  we 
might  ask  of  the  thinking  and  unprejudiced  world  to  answer 
these  questions,  and  confidently  we  might  await  the  answers. 
We  will  not  deny,  my  friends,  that  there  are  many  individual 
Jews  illiberal  in  their  views,  queer  in  their  notions,  narrow- 
minded  and  narrow-hearted.  We  will  not  deny  that  some  of 
our  fellow-Israelites  entertain  ideas  and  lead  a  life  not  at  all 
becoming  an  Israelite,  who,  as  a  member  of  the  "  chosen  peo- 
ple," ought  to  feel  doubly  obliged  to  shun  darkness  and  to 
walk  in  the  light.  We  will  not  deny  even,  that,  in  days  past 
and  days  present,  untenable  ideas  found  expression  by  some 
Jewish  authors  of  high  repute.  But  the  fact  is  not  to  be  lost 
sight  of  that  all  these  things  are  totally  unessential  in  Juda- 
ism. Cast  them  off,  ye  my  fellow-Israelites,  and  you  still  re- 
main Jews.  Cast  off  whatever  is  irrational,  whatever  is  in 
conflict  with  the  demands  of  sound  modern  culture  and  civ- 
ilization, whatever  is  obsolete  and  antiquated,  and  Judaism 
remains  ;  it  remains  as  long  as  it  maintains  its  opposition  to 
every  kind  of  heathenism,  as  long  as  it  holds  fast  to  the  sole, 
living  God,  and  as  long  as  it  acknowledges  the  obligatory 
character  of  the  moral  laws. 

Where  else  do  you  find  such  a  power  to  eternally  rejuvenate 
itself?  Ask  any  earnest  and  sincere  Christian  theologian, 
and  if  you  do  not  know  it,  you  will  then  learn  it,  that  as  soon 
as  the  doctrine  of  the  trinity,  of  the  atoning  power  of  the 
death  of  Christ,  of  the  deification  of  the  same,  of  the  original 
sin,  etc.,  are  done  away  with,  Christianity  ceases  to  be.     You 


—  74  — 

might — so  this  knowing  Christian  will  inform  you — call  what 
remains  Christianity,  by  politeness,  or  by  thoughtlessness; 
people  who  do  not  adhere  any  more  to  these  peculiar  articles 
of  creed  may,  perhaps,  honestly  delude  themselves  into  still 
claiming  to  be  Christians ;  but  they  are  such  only  in  name 
and  not  in  reality. 

Now  look  how  the  world  squids  on  these  questions.  Of 
nominal  Christians  there  are  thousands  who  in  reality  are 
not  Christians.  Jewish  ideas,  liberal  ideas  prevail  among 
them.  Those  un-Jewish  ideas  are  daily  losing  ground  in  the 
midst  of  the  educated  classes,  while  the  rational  and  Jewish 
elements  in  our  great  sister-Church  make  rapid  and  triumph- 
ant progress. 

But  now  comes  our  liberal  friend,  and  says  :  "  Why  do  you 
designate  the  liberal  views  we  entertain  as  Jewish?  You 
assume  too  much." 

My  friends — so  we  answer — in  arts  and  sciences  the  Occi- 
dental world  has  its  teachers  and  models,  not  among  the  Is- 
raelites, but  among  the  so-called  classical  nations  of  antiquity 
In  religion  proper,  however,  Judaism  is  the  ground  whence 
the  truth  came  to  the  Western  nations.  You  can  not  trace 
your  religious  views  to  the  Hindoos  or  to  the  Chinese.  Even 
if  you  find  among  them  sublime  doctrines  similar  to  those 
you  and  I  believe  in,  you  must  confess  that  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Hindoos  and  the  Chinese  did  not  have  the  least 
influence  upon  the  formation  and  development  of  the  Western 
mind.  Judaism  did.  And  as  well  as  we  can,  on  the  hand  of 
history,  follow  the  stream  of  our  mental  philosophy  back  to 
Aristotle  and  Plato,  and  the  stream  of  our  jurisprudence 
back  to  Rome  and  Byzanz,  so  we  are  led  back  to  Sinai  and  Ju- 
dea  if  we  start  from  the  present  state  of  the  ruling  religious 
ideas,  and  follow  the  thread  of  their  historical  development 
back  to  their  origin. 

The  spiritual  world  is  not  yet  fully  conquered.  Not  yet  is 
heathenism  fully  overthrown.  Nations  are  not  born  in  one 
day,  and  such  gigantic  labors  are  not  accomplished  in  one 
short  period  of  time.     But  much  is  already  accomplished, 


—  75  — 

great  victories  arc  already  won.  We  have  no  childish  pride 
in  names.  We  do  not  complain  when  the  people  hesitate  in 
accepting  the  name  of  Jews,  and  we  are  fully  satisfied  with 
the  fact,  and  glory  in  it,  that  Judaism  in  its  essence — one  God, 
one  mankind— is  daily,  more  and  more,  acknowledged  and 
accepted.  May  we  not  hope,  however,  that  honest  people  will 
ere  long  honor' the  truth,  and  will,  individually  and  collect- 
ively, declare  :  We  are  no  Christians — we  even  disclaim  the 
name  of  such?  And  who  knows  whether  the  reformator  is 
not  born  already,  who,  like  Luther  in  the  sixteenth  century, 
will  stand  up  boldly,  fearlessly,  and  true  to  his  innermost 
convictions,  and  to  the  dictates  of  his  conscience,  and  who, 
full  of  zeal  and  enthusiasm,  will  call  up  the  people  and  say  : 
"  As  three  hundred  years  ago  it  was  time  to  renounce  popery 
and  Roman  Catholicism,  so  it  is  now  the  time  to  renounce  the 
deification  of  a  man  and  all  the  ideas  connected  therewith — to 
renounce  Christianity.  And  as  Luther  and  his  contempo- 
raries returned,  or  intended  to  return,  to  the  Christianity  of 
the  first  century,  so  it  is  time  for  us  to  return  to  the  spirit  of 
the  prophets  of  Israel."  Who  knows  whether  some  of  us  may 
not  live  to  see  the  great  religious  revolution?  When  the  same 
will  take  place — and  many  signs  of  the  times  point  to  the 
event  coming  that  casts  its  shadows  beforehand — then  it  will 
be  obvious,  e'ven  for  dim  eyes,  that  Judaism  is  a  power  in  the 
world. 

Dear  brethren,  to  our  patriarchs  already  it  has  been  prom- 
ised, By  you  and  your  seed  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  shall 
be  blessed.  This  promise  the  God  in  history  fulfills.  He 
caused  Israel  to  be  dispersed  all  over  the  world,  in  order,  as 
the  Talmud  says,  to  bring  over  proselytes  to  Judaism.  Happy 
in  the  consciousness  of  their  high  mission,  Israelites  dwell 
now  in  all  parts  of  the  inhabited  globe,  living  witnesses  of 
Him,  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  who  said,  through  the  mouth 
of  His  prophet :  "  I,  even  I,  am  the  Lord,  and  besides  me  there 
is  no  savior."  Let  us  thank  our  Heavenly  Father  that  he  has 
chosen  Israel  from  among  the  nations  and  has  entrusted  it 
with  such  an  exalted  mission.  Let  us  thank  Him  for  pur 
dispersion.  Let  us  remain  faithful  and  true  to  our  mission. 
Let  us  never  forget  to  be  a  witness  of  Him,  the  Holy  One,  the 
God  of  the  Universe,  by  walking  in  His  ways.  His  name  be 
praised  forever  and  ever.     Amen. 


THE  OFFERING  OF  ISAAC. 


BY  REV.  DR.  MAX  LANDSBERG, 

(Of  Rochester,  N.  Y.) 


Text:— Gen.  xxii.  1-13. 

If  I  should  be  asked  to  give  a  short  and  concise  explana- 
tion of  the  time  of  the  Messiah  or  the  so-called  kingdom  of 
God,  of  the  most  blessed  aim  and  end  of  the  human  race 
toward  which  we  are  striving,  I  would  answer  thus :  At 
that  time  all  men  will  unanimously  recognize  as  the  word  of 
God  the  supremacy  of  the  moral  law,  which  forms  the  foun- 
dation of  all  social  progress,  and  of  all  institutions  that  con- 
stitute the  stronghold  of  society,  and  there  will  be  no  discord, 
no  dissension  regarding  the  means  by  which  that  noble  aim 
is  to  be  reached.  I  do  not  pretend  to  believe  that  there  will 
ever  be  a  time  when  all  men  will  give  expression  to  their  re- 
ligious sensations  by  the  same  forms  and  ceremonies ;  I  do 
not  pretend  to  hope  that  all  men  will  profess  the  same  doc- 
trines of  belief  and  belong  to  the  same  religious  denomina- 
tion, but  it  is  my  firm  and  unshaken  conviction  that  a  period 
will  come  when  the  final  aim  will  alone  be  considered  as  es- 
sential ;  when  all  men  will  consciously  and  conscientiously 
strive  toward  righteousness,  while  acknowledging  that  numer- 
ous diffeient  roads  may  lead  to  the  same  goal,  and,  therefore, 
not  presuming  that  theirs  must  of  necessity  be  the  shortest 
and  easiest  path,  but  merely  the  one  which  seems  preferable 
to  themselves. 

To  teach  this  truth,  to  make  mankind  aware  of  this  dis- 
pensation is  the  loftiest  end  and  aim  of  the  spiritual  labor  of 


-78- 

man,  the  most  fragrant  blossom,  the  sweetest  fruit  on  the  tree 
of  Judaism,  of  all  true  religion. 

Oh,  that  we  were  able  to  see  ourselves  with  the  same  eyes 
as  others  see  us ;  oh,  that  man  could  gain  that  fairness  of 
judgment,  that  clearness  of  thinking,  which  induced  him  to 
put  his  own  doctrines,  his  own  ideas,  his  own  peculiarities 
into  the  same  crucible,  to  submit  them  to  the  same  test  of 
logical  evidence,  wherewith  he  is  at  all  times  ready  to  ap- 
proach the  religious  belief,  the  superstition,  the  distinctive 
characteristics  of  his  fellow-men  ! 

How  many  centuries,  yea,  thousands  of  years,  has  it  taken 
to  teach  mankind  in  the  most  civilized  countries  of  our  globe, 
to  teach  those  nations  who  are  boasting  of  their  high  cul- 
ture, the  lesson  of  toleration  !  How  difficult  has  it  been  to 
break  the  soil  of  the  hearts  and  prepare  it  for  the  truth  that 
no  State  or  government  has  a  right  to  force  its  citizens  to  be- 
long to  any  established  church  and  support  the  same,  but 
that  every  man  is  allowed  his  own  religious  opinion  and 
worship,  when  contrary  to  or  different  from  those  of  the  es- 
tablished belief  !  And  how  crude  and  unsatisfactory  seems 
such  privilege  to  every  one  who  has  an  understanding  of  the 
full  scope  of  freedom  and  liberality  !  For  what  is  toleration, 
but  the  allowance  of  what  is  by  no  means  wholly  approved? 
If  the  necessary  power  would  exist,  differing  opinions  would 
be  suppressed,  their  utterance  prohibited,  their  promulgation 
checked,  their  professors  persecuted.  Thus  toleration  is  simply 
the  consequence  of  a  lack  of  power,  while  true  liberality 
toward  which  we  strive,  which  we  consider  to  be  the  final 
aim  of  religion,  does  not  only  tolerate,  but  gives  the  benefit 
of  the  doubt,  openly  avows  that  others,  though  differing  with 
us,  may  be  right  so  long  as  they  remain  within  the  boundaries 
of  morality  and  respect  the  fundamental  laws  of  society  on 
which  all  well-meaning  men  agree,  and  by  which  a  protecting 
wall  is  erected  around  life  and  property,  the  safety  of  the 
State  and  the  individual,  the  purity  of  the  family  and  the  virtue 
of  the  community. 

But   in    order    to    contribute   toward    reaching    such    a 


—  79  — 

desirable  aim,  we  must  not  be  fearful,  we  must  not 
shrink  from  looking  the  truth  straight  in  the  face,  we 
must  without  winking  accept  it  with  all  its  consequences, 
and  have  the  moral  courage  of  investigating  our  own 
belief  with  the  same  impartiality  and  freedom  of  preju- 
dice with  which  we  adjudicate  upon  that  of  others. 
How  seldom  is  such  clear  judgment  used  by  us ;  how  rarely 
do  we  abide  by  the  old  rule  IDlpD^  WT\W  IV  1"Qn  HK  p  Tin  5>N 
"You  have  no  right  to  judge  over  your  neighbor  except  you 
have  put  yourselves  in  his  place  !"  How  often  do  we  laugh  at 
the  credulity,  at  the  folly  of  our  fellow-men?  How  often  do  we 
look  down  with  sadness,  yea,  with  horror,  upon  what  we  call 
their  narrow-mindedness  and  their  superstitions — altogether 
forgetful  that  in  their  eyes  we  may  appear  as  foolish  and  sense- 
less as  they  do  to  us,  that  the  doctrines  and  practices  which 
arouse  our  indignation  and  horror,  which  make  our  hair  stand 
on  end,  may  be  nothing  but  the  extreme  logical  consequences 
of  what  we  ourselves  consider  as  truth,  proclaim  as  a  doctrine 
of  faith,  worship  as  the  word,  as  the  very  utterance  from  the 
mouth  of  God ! 

We  are  horrified  when  we  read  how  the  most  various  nations 
of  antiquity  practiced  the  dastardly  rite  of  sacrificing  human 
beings,  and  especially  children,  in  honor  of  the  deities.  We 
are  ready  to  join  with  our  old  prophets  in  the  most  ringing 
denunciations  of  abominations  practiced  at  the  statue  of  the 
Phoenician  god,  Moloch.  We  can  hardly  believe  that  among 
the  Greeks,  King  Agamemnon  could  be  persuaded  to  sacri- 
fice his  virgin  daughter,  Iphigenia,  to  the  goddess  Diana,  and 
that  up  to  a  very  late  time  men  were  sacrificed  by  the  most 
prominent  and  highly-educated  individuals,  as  by  Julius 
Csesar  at  a  sedition  of  his  soldiers,  by  Augustus,  after  the 
victory  over  Mark  Antony,  and  by  other  Roman  emperors  as 
late  as  to  the  fourth  century  of  the  present  era ;  and  when  in 
our  own  days,  in  one  of  the  most  enlightened  States  of  our 
Union,  a  father*  and  mother  deliberately  take  their  sweet  little 

*    Freeman,  at  Pocasset,  Massachusetts,  in  April,  1879. 


—  80  — 

four-year-old  girl,  slaughter  her  with  a  large  carving  knife,  as 
"  an  odor  of  sweet  smell,  a  sacrifice  acceptable  to  God,"  and 
far  from  regretting  the  bloody  deed,  claim  that  they  would  do 
it  over  again  and  meet  with  the  approval  of  their  co-relig- 
ionists— we  are  very  ready  to  attribute  the  horrible  action  to 
religious  madness  without  looking  for  any  further  explana- 
tion— while  most  assuredly  it  is  nothing  but  the  logical  con- 
sequence of  the  manner  in  which  Bible  stories  are  considered 
by  the  overwhelming  majority  of  people  in  our  country. 

Freeman  was  sure,  he  says,  that  in  the  decisive  moment 
God  would  stay  his  arm,  and  by  a  visible  or  audible  token, 
show  that,  as  in  the  case  of  Abraham,  he  was  satisfied  with 
the  will  instead  of  the  deed.  But  since  such  a  sign  was  not 
given  to  him,  he  was  convinced  that  he  had  done  nothing 
but  execute  the  will  of  God.  But,  my  friends,  where  is  the 
difference  between  the  intended  deed  of  Abraham  and  that 
of  the  child-murderer?  True,  it  is  said,  seemingly  the  cases 
are  equal,  but  in  reality  the  story  of  Abraham's  intended  sac- 
rifice of  his  son,  is  misunderstood  (of  course,  we  say  the 
same,  and  shall  explain  our  view  further  on),  but  how  mis- 
understood, so  long  as  the  words  of  the  Bible  are  claimed  to 
be  inspired  by  supernatural  revelation,  as  long  as  the  word 
"  God  spoke  to  so  and  so,"  is  taken  literally  !  Many  try  to 
explain  away  the  difficulty  thus:  "God  never  commanded 
Abraham  to  literally  slay  his  son.  That  Abraham  so  under- 
stood him  is  true,  but  he  misunderstood  him,  and  we  have  in 
the  opening  verses  of  chapter  xxii.  of  Genesis  not  what  God 
really  required,  but  Abraham's  misunderstanding  of  God's 
requirement,  according  to  the  standpoint  of  his  heathenish 
notions  of  sacrifice."  But  is  this  a  satisfactory  explanation, 
does  it  alter  one  iota  of  the  similarity  between  Abraham  and 
any  one  who  would  to-day  attempt  to  imitate  him  ?  The  only 
difference  is  that  Abraham  was  fortunate  enough  to  hear  the 
voice  of  God:  "Do  not  kill  your  son,  I  am  satisfied  with 
your  good  will."  Is  it  not  at  least  a  very  dangerous  thing 
about  the  voice  of  God,  if  it  is  capable  of  so  being  miscon- 
strued?    And  would  such  an  error  be  punishable?     Would 


—  81 


you  punish  your  child  if  from  a  plain  misunderstanding  of 
your  words,"  which  have  been  framed  in  such  a  shape  as  to 
allow  the  child's  interpretation,  it  had  done  wrong,  even  com- 
mitted what  otherwise  would  be  branded  as  a  crime?     Where 
is  the  culpability  of  a  man  who  misunderstood  the  command 
of  God  in  the  same  manner  as  Abraham?     And  why  should 
he  not  misunderstand  it  in  spite  of  the  most  ingenious  inter- 
pretations?    Does  not  the  story  end  :   "  And  the  angel  of  God 
called  to  Abraham  a  second  time  and  said,  By  myself  I  swear 
says  the  Lord,  indeed  because  thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and 
hast  not  withheld  thy  son,  thy  only  one.     Indeed  I  shall  bless 
thee  abundantly  and  shall  multiply  thy  seed  exceedingly,  as 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which  is  upon  the  sea 
shore,  since  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice  !  "     And  is  not  Abra- 
ham praised  rather  for  his  willingness  to  give  up  his  son  than 
for  his  obedience  to  the  second  call,  that  he  should  spare  him? 
And  has  not  the  readiness  of  Abraham  to  sacrifice  his  son, 
always  been  considered  as  the  greatest  deed  of  faith  com- 
mitted by  man,  the  most  striking  proof  of  his  piety?    And 
did  it  not  become  the  basis  on  which  the  Israelites  founded 
their  claims  of  election  among  the  nations,  and  in  later  times 
the  hopes  of  atonement  of  their  sins?    Read  the  traditional 
prayers  for  the  New  Year's  day  and  the  Day  of  Atonement 
still  in  use  among  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  Jews 
and  you  find  them  crowded  to  overflowing  with  reminiscences 
of  the  "  Akeda/'  the  sacrifice  of  Isaac.  God  is  urged  not  to  for- 
get it,  but  let  all  the  descendants  of  Abraham  and  Isaac  reap 
the  fruit  of  this  highest  nn«  Jlttl  of  the  merit  of  Abraham, 
which  consisted  in  his  readiness  to  offer  his  son  on  the  altar? 
Can  we.  therefore,  be  satisfied  with  the  explanation  that 
Abraham  was  commanded  by  God,  but  misunderstood  his 
words?     Is  not  then  every  man,  are  not  we  ourselves,  exposed 
to  such  frightful  misunderstanding?     No,  my  friends,  there 
is  only  one  cure  for  such  evil,  and  a'radical  cure.    It  is  not 
sufficient,  as  it  used  to  be  the  custom,  to  interpret?  into  the 
words  of  the  Bible  that  which  happens  to  be  convenient,  but 
it  is  a  necessity,  an  irrepressible  duty,  over  against  all  oppo- 


—  82  — 

sition,  without  any  consideration  of  those  who  are  afraid  re- 
ligion will  be  lost  if  the  Bible  is  not  regarded  as  a  supernat- 
ural book — to  be  firm  in  our  conviction,  to  declare  openly- 
over  and  over  again  and  to  implant  the  knowledge  into  the 
hearts  of  our  children — that  there  is  only  one  manner  in 
which  God  speaks  to  man — through  his  own  spirit — that 
there  is  on\j  one  revelation,,  that  the  voice  of  God  can  not  be 
misunderstood,  for  it  makes  itself  manifest  to  us  in  the  reve- 
lations of  science  and  nature ;  it  is  subject  to  the  laws  of 
morality  and  controlled  by  the  rules  of  logical  thinking,  and 
it  is  growing,  like  everything  else,  a  natural  growth,  it  is  un- 
dergoing a  constitutional  evolution,  a  never-ceasing  develop- 
ment. 

We  know  that  human  sacrifices  were  practiced  among  the 
Jews  up  to  the  Babylonian  captivity,  we  are  told  in  the  Bible 
itself  that  David  offered  them,  that  Solomon  built  a  temple 
to  Moloch  and  that  this  worship  was  most  of  the  time  the 
established  State  religion  in  Juclah,  and  that  not  more  than 
sixty  years  before  Jerusalem's  first  destruction,  King  Manasseh 
offered  his  son  to  Moloch.  These  circumstances  alone  would 
prove  that  the  story  of  Isaac's  sacrifice  must  have  been  written 
at  a  very  late  time,  and  indeed  all  indications  point  toward 
the  conclusion  that — in  its  present  form — it  was  not  written 
before  the  eighth  century  by  prophets  who,  like  Micah,  have 
proclaimed  such  words  as  :  "  Shall  I  give  you  my  first-born 
for  my  sin,  my  own  child  to  obtain  forgiveness?  No  !  He 
has  shown  you,  oh  man,  what  is  good,  and  what  God  requires 
of  you.  It  is  to  do  right,  to  hold  mercy  dear,  and  to  walk 
humbly  with  thy  God."  Then  the  biblical  author,  not  mind- 
ing the  anachronism  committed,  placed  at  the  beginning  of 
Israel's  history  an  event  which  expresses  the  spirit  of  his 
own  time.  The  prophets  of  that  age  were  fighting  single- 
handed  the  great  struggle  against  the  idolatry  of  the  court 
and  the  nation ;  they  branded  with  their  fiery  eloquence  as 
the  worst  crime  what  was  then  considered  as  worship  of  the 
Deity ;  they  dared  to  give  utterance  to  their  opinions  before 
a  populace  who  were  assured  that  their  good  fortune  had  left 


—  83  — 

them  since  they  had  ceased  praying  and  sacrificing  to  Mo- 
loch and  the  Queen  of  the  Heavens.  It  was  by  men  of  such 
stamp  that  the  old  tradition  of  Isaac's  sacrifice  was  used  and 
transformed  in  the  sense  of  their  own  advanced  religious 
ideas,  to  teach  the  people  that  Abraham  had  allowed 
his  sound  reason  to  interfere  with  the  voice  of  his  heart, 
which  was  that  of  heathen  superstition,  and  to  make 
their  contemporaries  understand  that  not  even  the  most 
devoted  allegiance  to  God  and  the  deepest  piety  require 
or  justify  human  sacrifices,  that  God  is  satisfied  with  the 
heart  of  those  who  worship  him  and  that  he  crowns  with  a 
splendid  reward  those  who  by  their  shining  example  crush 
superstition  and  dare  to  have  the  courage  of  an  independent 
opinion. 

Such  ideas  would  be  expressed  to-day  and  made  accessible 
to  the  people  by  writing  a  book  on  ethics  and  morals  ;  but  in 
the  childhood  of  the  literature  of  all   nations   nothing  was 
written  and  appreciated  but  poetry.     The  history  related  in 
the  Bible  is  clothed  in  a  poetical  garment,  it  is  to  a  great  ex- 
tent resting  upon  a  historical  basis,  while  a  great  deal  of  it  is 
mere  fiction,  elaborated  to  convey  certain  moral  ideas.  God  has 
never  spoken  to  men  in  any  other  manner  than  he  does  to- 
day ;  God's  revelation  was  not  a  whit  more  supernatural  two 
or  four  thousand  years  ago  than  it  is  at  our  own  time ;  God's 
voice  is  heard  in  thunder  and  lightning  to-day  as  it  was  on 
Sinai  and  was  then  not  otherwise  than  it  is  now.     The  laws 
of  nature  have  never  been  disturbed  nor  perverted ;  they  have 
changed  as  little  as  God  has  himself.     All  that  has  changed 
is  man  ;  from  a  state  of  childhood,  when  he  was  pleased  with 
fables  and  stories  of  supernatural  miracles,  he  has  developed 
into  an  adult  man,  who  wants  facts,  knows  or  commences  to 
be  aware  of  his  mental  capacities,  looks   forward  for  ever 
greater  development  and  improvement,  and  turns  backward 
only  to  regard  with  the  highest  interest  the  evolution  of  the 
religious  idea  and  of  civilization,  from  the  crudest  beginnings 
of  antiquity  to  our  own  time.   This  development  of  a  thousand 
years  in  the  life  and  history  of  our  forefathers  is  preserved  to  us 


—  84  — 

in  the  number  of  fragments  and  remnants  from  their  ancient 
literature,  which  constitute  "  The  Book  "  or  "  Bible."  It  is 
holy  to  us  as  an  old  inheritance  from  our  ancestors ;  it  is 
sacred  to  us  as  the  fountain  from  which  our  religious  truth 
and  civilization  have  grown,  as  the  ancient  records  of  the  his 
tory  of  our  fathers ;  it  is  dear  to  us  because  it  is  stained  with 
the  lifeblood  of  millions  of  our  people,  who  have  clung  to  it 
amidst  terrible  persecutions  when  exposed  to  the  most  cruel 
fanaticism,  and  have  by  its  inspiration  become  the  banner- 
bearers  of  freedom  and  liberality;  but  our  eyes  are  not  blind 
to  prevent  us  from  recognizing  its  true  value,  to  make  us 
over-estimate  it  and  consider  all  its  contents,  without  dis- 
crimination, as  a  rule  of  life  and  a  guide  of  our  conduct. 

Let  us  fearlessly  proclaim  this  truth,  let  us  make  our  voice 
heard  wherever  it  will  penetrate,  and  we  shall  fulfill  Israel's 
mission,  to  bless  mankind  with  enlightenment  and  teach  all 
the  families  of  the  earth  the  true  and  pure  word  of  God 
Amen. 


MOSES  SPAKE  TRULY. 


A  SERMON. 


BY  REV.  PROF.  ABRAHAM  DE  SOLA,  LL.  D. 

(Minister  of  the  Portuguese  Congregation,  Montreal.) 


Brethren:— In  the  6th   chapter  of  Exodus,  at  the  9th 
verse,  we  read  these  woids  : 
:wp  majwi  nn  nvpo  n^  hx  xw*  kS  S*o^  *»  !>k  P  mra  nam 

"  Moses  spake  so  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  but  they 
hearkened  not  unto  Moses,  from  shortness  of  spirit  and  from 
hard  bondage." 

I  have  translated  the  text  according  to  its  plain,  literal 
meaning.  Doubtless  the  words  "  Moses  spake  so  unto  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,"  refer  to  the  all-gracious  and  all-assuring  mes- 
sage which  God  had  directed  him  to  deliver  to  them,  and 
which  is  contained  in  the  seven  verses  immediately  preceding 
the  text  just  read.  This  message,  in  the  first  place,  consisted 
of  a  revelation  by  God  to  Israel  of  the  ineffable  name 
"  Adonai"  God-Eternal,  in  addition  to  the  name  "ffl  Shad- 
dai"  God- All-Sufficient,  by  which  he  had  been  known  to 
Abraham,  to  Isaac,  to  Jacob,  and  to  themselves,  until  now. 
The  all-important  message  further  contained  God's  blessed 
assurance  that  he  remembered  the  covenant  which  he  had 
made  with  the  patriarchs,  that  he  had  heard  the  groaning  of 
their  enslaved  and  oppressed  children,  and  that  he  would 
now  miraculously  deliver  them  from  the  galling  yoke  of  their 
heartless  taskmasters  and  lead  them  from  Egypt  to  Canaan, 
and  there  become  their  God.     The  actual   delivery  of  this 


—  86  — 

message  is,  therefore,  evidently  referred  to  when  the  text  tells 
us,  "  Moses  spake  so  to  the  children  of  Israel."  But  notwith- 
standing this,  and  notwithstanding  the  safe  principle  laid 
down  by  our  ancient  teachers*  to  prefer  a  literal  to  a  figurative 
exposition  when  possible,  let  us  now,  by  a  slight  alteration  of 
the  generally  received  rendering  of  the  text,  endeavor  to  show 
that  from  words  which  certainly  present  nothing  more  than 
a  mere  historical  statement,  important  ethical  truths  and  valu- 
able religious  doctrines  may  be  elicited.  Let  us  see  how  the 
words  of  the  text  may  be,  and  are,  as  applicable  to  the  state 
of  the  children  of  Israel  to-day,  as  of  yore ;  let  us  see  that 
we  may  even  now  obtain  from  them  spiritual  edification  and 
profit.  To  this  end  let  us  proceed  to  consider  two  main  ques- 
tions which  the  text  seems,  evidently,  to  suggest : 

I.  How  has  Moses  spoken  to  the  children  of  Israel?  and 

II.  Why  have  not  the  children  of  Israel  hearkened  unto 
Moses? 

And  may  the  Source  of  all  wisdom  and  truth  be  with  us 
and  guide  us  in  this  hour  of  meditation  and  devotion. 
Amen. 


I. 

How  has  Moses  spoken  to  the  children  of  Israel?  The  text 
says  that  "  he  spoke  so,"  in  the  original,  p  "  ken;"  but  this 
Hebrew  word  has  other  meanings.  Primarily,  it  signifies  a 
stand,  or  base,  something  standing  upright  and  straight ;  but 
it  has  a  secondary  or  figurative  sense,  conveying  the  abstract 
ideas  of  truth,  faithfulness,  honesty,  uprightness  and  other 
kindred  virtues,  and  then  it  becomes  synonymous  with  pa  J 
"  Nachon,"  proper,  and  is  used  as  a  neuter  noun,  an  adjective, 
or  an  adverb.  In  Genesis  xlii.  11,  Joseph's  brethren  assure 
him  they  are  "  Kaynim"  true  men.  Joseph  uses  the  word  in 
the  same  sense  at  the  19th  verse,  and  so  it  is  employed  in 
the  31st,  33d  and  34th  verses.     In    Exodus    x.    29,   Moses 


*  vj-rs  *Ttt  N2*r  K"ip^  )*K. 


—  87  — 

says  to  Pharoah  :  "  Thou  has  spoken  '  ken?  well,  truly."  In 
Numbers  xxvii.  7,  we  read :  u  The  daughters  of  Zelophehad 
speak  '  ken?  rightly,"  and  at  the  35th  chapter,  5th  verse,  we 
find,  "  The  tribe  of  the  sons  of  Joseph  hath  said  '  ken?  well." 
The  word  has  the  same  meaning  in  post-pentateuchal  writ- 
ings. In  Joshua  ii.  4,  are  the  words,  "  The  men  '  ken '  truly,  or 
really,  did  come  unto  me  ;"  and  in  II.  Kings,  vii.  7,  it  is  written 
"  We  act  not  '  ken?  rightly  or  honestly."  And  now,  brethren, 
without  departing  entirely  from  a  grammatical  or  literal  ren- 
dering of  the  text,  we  have  a  reply  to  the  first  question  which 
it  suggests  to  us,  and  that  reply  is,  "  Moses  spake  truly  unto 
the  children  of  Israel."  Yes,  he  spake  truly,  as  became  him 
who  is  described  in  the  Yigdal-Hymn  as  im  |DKJ  "  the  faith- 
ful one  of  Irs  house."  Yes,  he  spake  truly,  for  if  the  voice 
and  writing  were  his,  the  inspiration,  the  words,  were  not  his, 
but  God's.  And  thus  it  is,  0  children  of  Israel !  that  when 
you  entered  on  the  blessed  and  blessing  heritage  which  is 
yours,  HK>D  )&  rm>  rnin  "  the  Law  which  Moses  commanded 
us,"  you  became  possessors  of  truths  unspeakably  valuable, 
of  privileges  great  above  all  estimate.  Yes,  Moses  has  spoken 
truly  to  us,  because  he  has  imparted  to  us  the  greatest  of 
fundamental  truths,  the  only  true  knowledge  we  can  possess 
of  man's  origin  and  of  his  vocation  here — aye,  and  of  the 
origin  of  all  creatures  and  all  things  also.  But,  methinks, 
you  would  ask,  is  this  indeed  so?  Do  not  the  teachings  of 
modern  science  conflict  with  those  of  Moses  when  he  refers 
to  physical  facts,  and  is  not  this  conflict  more  especially  ap- 
parent in  his  statements  respecting  such  subjects  as  the  ori- 
gin of  the  world  and  of  man?  Unhesitatingly,  but  not  with- 
out having  long  considered  the  question,  I  answer,  No  !  most 
emphatically,  No  !  Certainly  there  has  been  a  seeming  con- 
flict between  the  teachings  of  Moses  and  those  of  scientists 
in  the  past,  but  as  the  science  of  the  earlier  times  to  which  I 
refer,  has  developed  and  advanced,  its  seeming  contradiction 
with  the  biblical  record  has  ceased  to  exist.  In  our  own  day, 
as  new  utterances  and  theories  of  scientists  are  put  forth, 
new  contradictions  seem  to  exist  between  the  teachings  of 


—  88  — 

Moses  and  of  science  in  the  minds  of  some  men,  worthy  and 
able  men  even — but  only  to  exist  until  the  Holy  Book,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  requirements  of  the  Talmudic  sages*  be 
subjected  to  a  more  strict  and  scientific  exegesis  than  is  gen- 
erally given  to  it ;  only  until  the  language  and  archaeology 
of  the  Bible  be  better  studied;  only  until  science,  modifying, 
altering  and  discarding  its  present  teachings,   according  to 
its  wont,  shall  become  yet  more  fully  advanced  and  developed. 
This  must  be  so  from  the  very  nature  of  things,  from  the  ex- 
perience of  the  past,  from  the  testimony  of  history  which  has 
clearly  taught  us  the  irrefragable  truth  that  while  human 
science  has  been  constantly  changing  its  utterances  and  shift- 
ing  its   ground,   "the   word   of  the   Lord   abideth   alway," 
iruiDK  Til  ~n  iyi  "  and  his  truth  throughout  all  generations." 
Now,  if  this  be  the  experience  we  have  already  had  of  the 
character  of  the  biblical  and  scientific  records,  of  the  divine 
word  and  the  human  word,  the  speaking  of  Moses  and  the 
teachings  of  those  who  proved  themselves  false  prophets  and 
teachers  of  error,  it  is  all  important  to  our  present  inquiry 
that  we  should  lay  down  certain  principles  which  will  always 
enable  us  to  judge   whether   Moses  has  spoken  truly  to  us, 
should  our  minds  become  disturbed  by  the  constantly  recur- 
ring novelties  and  skepticisms  of   modern    scientists.     My 
friends,  I  have  always  objected  to  discuss  in  this  holy  place 
the  platitudes  of  human  wisdom,   when  we  could  so  much 
more  profitably  occupy  ourselves  with  the  precious  teachings 
of  the  divine  word,  or  to  ask  your  attention  to  the  common- 
places of  secular  literature,  when  we  have  the  sublimities  of 
revelation  before  us.     But,  to-day,  brethren,  with  the  object 
of  exhibiting   the   principles  just  referred  to,  I  will  depart 
from  my  usual  course,  to  notice,  in  exemplification,  one  of 
the  most  recent  creations  of  modern  thought,  known  as  the 
doctrine  of  Evolution  or  development.     I   do  this,   also,  be- 
cause I  happen  to  know  that  the  confidence  with  which  it  has 


*  rc  *oin  ro  -nem  to  tiki. 


—  89  — 

been  urged  by  some,  has  caused  perplexity  and  pain  to  many 
pious  persons  around  us,  though,  thank  God,  not  among  us. 
First,  then,  my  hearers,  it  is  an  admitted  principle  in  men- 
tal science,  it  is  a  law  in  logic,  that  if  either  or  both  the  prem- 
ises of  a  syllogism,  or  an  argument  put  in  its  regular  logical 
form,  bo  insufficient,  or  invalid,  the  conclusion  drawn  from 
such  premises  will  also  be  insufficient  and  invalid,  and  must, 
then,  be  regarded  as  a  mere  fallacy;  also,  that  a  fallacious 
argument — that  is,  an  apparent  argument— is,  in  reality, 
none.  Next,  it  is  an  admitted  principle  in  physical  science 
that  only  that  is  pure  science  or  science  proper  which  deals 
with  facts  and  the  deductions  made  from  them  by  the  strict 
laws  of  reasoning  just  mentioned.  Now,  judged  by  these 
standards,  the  evolution  doctrine  has  no  claim  to  the  title  of 
science ;  it  can  not,  logically,  ascend  to  the  dignity  of  scien- 
tific truth,  but  must  needs  remain  at  the  low  level  occupied 
by  theory,  aye,  by  exploded  theories,  too.  It  is  not  I  who 
tell  you  this ;  it  is  not  the  mere  theologian  who  declares  this 
to  you ;  but  it  is  the  true  scientists  themselves.  It  is  the 
practical  men  of  science,  men  famed  for  their  original  inves- 
tigations in  geology  and  physical  science,  who  show  you  that 
those  who  maintain  there  is  no  need  for  an  Almighty  Creator 
of  the  Universe,  of  whom  Moses  speaks,  but  that  inanimate 
matter  could  in  the  process  of  time  be  developed  out  of  noth- 
ing, and,  afterward,  that  living  creatures  could  be  developed 
out  of  dead  matter,  can  not  point  to  a  single  fact  from  which 
to  draw  their  deductions  ;  hence,  they  are  merely  theorists, 
speculators,  not  scientists.  Their  premises  are  insufficient 
and  false,  and  their  deductions  are,  therefore,  also  insufficient 
and  false.  And  while  it  is  not  wonderful  that  men  should 
be  found  speculating  about  things  that  are  past  their  compre- 
hension, as  science  always  leads  back  to  the  things  we  can 
not  comprehend,  it  is  criminal  to  confound  mere  speculation 
with  the  deductions  of  science ;  and  this  is  what  the  support- 
ers of  the  development  theory  are  doing,  as  they  can  not 
point  to  a  single  fact  that  goes  to  prove  the  truth  of  their  pet 


—  90  — 

theory.  And  although  it  has  been  a  question  with  the  learned 
in  all  ages  whether  a  living  thing  can  be  produced  out  of  those 
that  are  dead,  there  has  not  been  found  a  single  instance 
where  a  living  thing  has  been  produced  without  a  previous 
living  thing,  nor  have  we  any  knowledge  of  separate  species 
of  animals  being  produced  from  other  species ;  and  to  state 
that  such  may  be  done,  is  mere  speculation,  which  must  not 
be  mixed  up  with  the  ascertained  results  of  science.*  We 
may  be  satisfied,  then,  that  Moses  spake  truly  to  us  when  he 
taught  us  that  u  in  the  beginning  God  created  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,"  that  great  truth  that  forms  the  basis  of  Juda- 
ism, the  existence  of  a  personal  God,  who  produced  matter 
from  nothing,  who  is,  therefore,  prior  to  matter,  and  was 
never  dependent  upon  matter  for  his  existence.  These  truths, 
taught  us  in  the  very  first  paragraph  of  the  writings  of  Moses, 
are  not  accidentally  or  unintentionally  told  us,  but  with  the 
design  of  confuting  the  errors  of  the  existing  cosmogonies 
taught  by  his  contemporaries  and  predecessors.  Therefore 
speaks  Moses  truly,  also,  when  he  teaches  that  God  is  "  El 
Shaddaif  The  All-Sufficient  and  Almighty  God,  the  only 
power  able  to  produce  something  from  nothing  p<D  Wt\  fcTCOn 
Therefore  speaks  Moses  truly,  also,  when  he  teaches  us  that 
this  being,  u  El  Shaddai"  is  also  Adonai,  The  Eternal, — 
eternal  in  his  power;  eternal  in  all  his  attributes;  and  that 
he  must  be,  therefore,  the  sole  object  of  man's  worship  for- 
ever.    Therefore  speaks  Moses  truly,  also,  when  he  teaches  us 


*  Israelites  who  believe  or  who  doubt  that  Moses  has  spoken  truly 
on  these  important  points,  should  alike  refer  to  the  able  and  con- 
vincing discussion  of  them  by  that  distinguished  scientist,  Dr.  J.  W. 
DawFon,  in  his  "Origin  of  the  World,"  published  in  1877,  especially 
on  pages  220  and  227,  which  exhibit  five  fatal  objections  toevolu'ion 
as  at  present  held.  They  should  attentively  read  this  book  and  Ids 
11  Lectures  on  the  Bible  and  Science. "  These,  with  his  other  most 
valuable  works,  to  winch  I  am  only  too  happy  to  declare  my  indebt- 
edness formost  highly-prized  instruction  and  edification,  I  would  ear- 
nestly wish  to  see,  side  by  side  with  t  e  Bible,  in  every  Jewish  home, 
school  and  college.  The  style  of  t lie  eminent  investigator  of  theLau- 
rentians  and  Devonians  is  such  that  his  works  may  be  perused  even 
by  the  non-scientific  reader  with  both  profit  and  pleasure. 


—  91  — 

that  this  Eternal  God  is  One,  nnx  "  as  the  unity  of  design 
and  connection  of  plan  in  creation  shows,  even  to  the  convic- 
tion of  the  most  skeptical  scientist.* 

And,  my  hearers,  truly  speaks  Moses  to  us  when  he  imparts 
to  us  the  knowledge  of  the  divine  attributes  proclaimed  when 
the   Eternal  passed  before  him.     Brethren,  bow  down  your 
heads  in  reverence  while  I  repeat  to  you  these  solemn  truths, 
as  Moses  spake  them  to  the  children  of  Israel,  Dim  ^K  *  « 
riNBni  wwn  |iy  kbo  wsbxb  "ion  to  noxi  non  an  d%m  tx  turn 
npJl  "  Adonai  is  the  immutable,  eternal  Being  !  the  omnipo- 
tent God  !  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant 
in  beneficence  and  truth  ;  showing  mercy  even  unto  the  thou- 
sandth generation,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgression  and  sin, 
and   acquitting."!     God  is  merciful   and  gracious,  declares 
Moses,  and  therefore,  as  says  David  :     "Asa  loving  Father 
hath  compassion  on  his  children,  so  God  hath  compassion  on 
those  who  fear  him."J     The  God  of  whom  Moses  speaks  does 
not  disdain   our  love,  our  reverence,  our  supplications,  our 
service ;  he  does  not  spurn  us  from  him  as  something  too 
vile,  too  insignificant,  too  contemptible  for  notice.     He  de- 
lights not  in  the  agonies  of  his  creatures ;  therefore  he  de- 
sires not  to  be  served  with  the  rites  of  cruelty  and  impurity 
which  have  been  used  by  those  who  have  not  known  Moses ; 
therefore  he  has  not  required  at  our  hands  the  sacrifices  of 
human  beings.     He  knoweth  man's  frailty,§  m?  JJT  wn  '3,  as 
the  potter  knoweth  the  material  of  the  vessel  which  he  forms 
umx  13V  *3  TOT  therefore,  as  Moses  speaks,  he  is  "  long-suf- 

*  Even  John  Stuart  Mill,  "  who  seems  at  one  time  to  have  taken 
ground  against  d^siixn,"  subsequently  admitted  its  forca,  more  espe- 
cially ns  an  argument  of  inductive  value.  See  Dawson's  "  Lectures 
on  the  Bible  and  Science,"  and  his  recent  refutation  of  Haeckel,  in 
the  Princeton  Review,  May,  1880. 

t  Exodus  xxxiv.  5. 

$  Psalm  ciii.  13. 

§  Psalm  ciii.  14. 


—  92  — 

fering,  abundant  in  beneficence  and  truth,"  and,  as  Moses 
also  shows  us,  only  requires  that  we  should  sincerely  "repent 
and  listen  to  his  voice,"  £>?2  nynw  ynb*  "  "IV  n3B»l  *     Moses 
teaches  that  a  sincere  repentance  of  past  transgressions  and 
an  equally  sincere  determination  to  listen  and  to  amend  in 
the  future,  are  all  sufficient  conditions  for  restoration  to  God's 
favor,  and  that  when  these   conditions  are  fulfilled,  he  will 
fully  restore  us  to  his  love.     And  this  in  a  direct  manner,  and 
not  through  the  merits   or   mediatorship  of  another.     No, 
teaches  Moses,  KWl  fc^DJn  nmajl  "  the  sinning  one  shall  him- 
self be  cut  off/'f  and  again,  Uiy  KBOl  "  he  himself  shall  bear 
his  sin. "J     Moses,  therefore,  speaks  to  us  other  truths  of  the 
highest  importance  when  he  teaches  us  that  we  are  responsible 
beings;  that  our  eternal  destiny  is  consequently  in  our  own 
hands ;  that  we  are  placed  here,  merely  to  earn  our  reward  in 
another  sphere  of  intellectual  and  spiritual  existence,  that  the 
now  is  when  we  are  to  labor  to  earn  the  wages  paid  us  by  a 
just  and  benevolent  Master  in  the  hereafter.  God  thus ''passes 
by  transgression  "  of  his  mere  mercy  and  grace,  so  that  if  we 
be  to-day  impure  in  his  sight,  we  may  be  to-morrow  cleansed 
and  purified  before  the  Eternal ;  Vinton  Tl  ^sb  §  so  that  if  our 
sins  be  at  this  moment  "  red  as  scarlet  "  before  God,  in  the 
next  they  may  appear  to  him  "white  as  snow."||     And  this  is 
not  because  there  has  been  any  change  in  him  whom  Moses 
teaches  us  is  immutable,  but  because  the  change  has  been  in 
ourselves ;  and  hence,  according  to  the  consoling  teaching  of 
the  synagogue,  "  the  sincerely  repentant  sinner  is  loved  and 
esteemed  before  the  Creator,  as  if  he  had  never  sinned. "■[" 

Thus  has  Moses  spoken  to  us  with  reference  to  the  being 
and  attributes  of  God ;  and  now,  brethren,  let  me  ask  you, 

*  Deut.  iv.  30. 
t  Ex.  xii.  15-19,  etc. 
t  Lev.  v.  1. 
§  Lev.  xvi.  30. 
II  Isaiah  i.  18. 

IT  E?iys  Kttn   K*3    1?KD    N'YOn  *3B5  Kin  IttnSI  aiHK,    Maimonides, 
"  Hilchoth  Teshubah,  vii.  4. 


—  93  — 

is  it  not  true  that  the  human  mind,  which  has  sought  during 
thousands  of  years  to  form  correct  ideas  of  the  nature  Lnd 
attributes  of  deity,  unaided  by  what  Moses  hath  spoken,  has 
never  been  able  to  ascend  like  him  who  spake  GHpH  nm  "under 
the  divine  afflatus,"  to  such  grandeur  of  conception,  to  such 
sublimity  of  ideal?  Who  is  he  and  where  is  he  that  has 
spoken  to  us  on  this,  the  highest  of  all  themes,  so  truly  as 
Moses  hath  spoken  to  us,  words  and  teachings  so  true  that 
they  completely  fill  the  soul,  and  thoroughly  satisfy  its 
longings  for  such  light  as  it  may  obtain  in  this  stage 
of  its  existence?  Is  it  not  true  that  the  god  begot- 
ten of  human  thought,  of  human  science,  whether  it 
be  of  the  philosophers,  the  mythologists,  the  pantheists  of 
the  past,  or  of  the  philosophers  and  pantheists  of  the  pres- 
ent, is  but  an  embodiment  of  weakness  and  insufficiency,  in- 
sufficiency of  intellectual  as  well  as  of  physical  power ;  the 
very  reverse  idea  of  El  Shaddai  ;  is  it  not  an  apotheosis  of 
darkness  and  limitation  of  mind,  the  very  reverse  idea  of 
Adonai?  And  in  the  total  absence  of  spirituality  in  such 
conceptions,  do  we  not  plainly  perceive  positive  grossness? 
And  in  the  fierce  and  senseless  attacks  of  rampant  material- 
ism on  what  it  can.  not  and  never  will  displace,  do  we  not 
recognize  the  active  and  scarcely  concealed  desire  of  men  to 
be  freed  from  all  that  will  check  the  fullest  gratification  of 
their  lowest  passions,  from  all  that  teaches  them  that  they  have 
heaven-born  duties,  obligations  and  responsibilities?  to  be 
freed  from  the  ken  and  supervision  of  that  omniscient  and 
omnipresent  Being  of  whom  Moses  speaks,  from  that  all 
seeing-eye  that  can  penetrate  the  innermost  recesses  of  both 
matter  and  mind?  My  hearers,  I  leave  you  now  to  ponder 
these  questions,  but  not  without  the  fullest  conviction  that 
you  will  have  but  one  all-comprehensive  reply  to  all  of  them, 
and  that  this  reply  will  be  in  the  words  of  the  text,  np»  Wl 
Sxnp1  *J3  Stf  p  u  Moses  has  spoken  truly  to  the  children  of 
Israel." 

Under  the  divine  favor,  we  will  continue  this  subject  at  our 
next  meeting,  inquiring  then  whether  Moses  has  spoken  truly 


—  94  — 

with  reference  to  man's  duties  to  man,  and  examining,  even 
if  briefly,  the  character  of  his  ethical  teachings.  Till  then, 
brethren,  may  God  have  you  in  his  keeping ;  and  may  his 
spirit  rest  on  you,  so  that  your  eyes  may  become  opened  to 
the  wonders  of  his  Law  which  Moses  has  so  truly  spoken  to 
you.  And  may  what  has  been  said  to-day  be  blessed  to  you 
all;  so  that  it  may  be  affirmed  of  you  as  it  is  written  of  your 
fathers,  my  rwoi)  »2  wdjoi  «  na  Dyn  im*l  "  The  people 
feared  the  Lord,  and  they  believed  in  the  Lord  and  Moses, 
his  servant."     Amen. 


SPIRITUAL  MANHOOD. 


A  SERMON. 


BY  REV.  MAX  SAMFIELD. 
(Rabbi  of  the  "Children  of  Israel"   Congregation,  Memphis,  Tenn.) 


Era  nrnb  nrwn  dt:k  pro  ^P^2 

"  Where  true  men  are  wanting,  strive  thou  to  be  a  man."— Pirke  Aboth,  ii.  6. 

The  age  in  which  Rabbi  Hillel  lived  was  one  of  agitation 
and  commotion.  The  Jewish  commonwealth  had  been  broken 
into  factions,  each  of  which  proclaimed  religious  and  political 
doctrines  of  a  different  character.  The  royalistic  party,  at- 
tached to  the  house  of  Herod,  stood  on  one  side,  demanding 
the  subjection  of  religion  to  temporal  policy  and  sensual  en- 
joyment: the  Sadducees  on  the  other,  insisting  upon  the 
absolute  authority  of  the  law,  and  on  a  literal  compliance 
with  the  same.  On  either  side  were  ranged  thousands,  rep- 
resenting as  many  shades  of  opinion,  and  often  breaking  out 
into  open  hostilities  against  each  other.  Between  these,  in  all 
the  beauty  of  manliness  and  firmness  of  character,  stands 
Hillel,  the  noble  Pharisee,  the  liberal-minded  rabbi,  like  a 
rock  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest;  and,  unmoved  by  passion, 
untouched  by  partisan  influence,  there  fall  from  his  lips  the 
golden  words  of  wisdom,  proclaiming  the  precious  maxim  of 
ethical  discipline:  "Where  true  men  are  wanting,  strive 
thou  to  be  a  man." 

He  looks  back  of  all  those  sectional  doctrines,  of  all  those 
transient  phases  of  Judaism,  to  search  for  a  fulcrum  where- 
upon he  could  stand,  to  judge  impartially,  to  be  free  from  ex- 


-9G  — 

ternal  influences,  and  yet  to  guard  successfully  the  treasure 
of  Judaism  against  loss  and  decay.  And  Hillel  finds  that 
fulcrum  in  a  pure  and  undefiled  manhood,  in  the  manliness 
and  dignity  of  a  human  character,  which  alone  can  attain 
that  discipline  of  the  human  mind,  to  see  things  as  they  are 
and  not  what  they  seem  to  be.  He  places  the  reasoning 
mind  above  individual  opinions,  local  and  temporal  condi- 
tions ;  he  recognizes  no  authority  but  that  which  is  based 
upon  the  demands  of  the  human  heart  and  human  mind. 
Thus  he  comes  in  conflict  with  the  school  of  Shammai ;  thus 
he  allows  practices  which  had  previously  been  prohibited ; 
thus  he  annuls  ordinances  which  had  heretofore  been  rigidly 
enforced.  His  wisdom  shed  new  glory  upon  the  house  of  Is- 
rael, and  evolving  from  the  manhood  of  religion  which  he 
taught  his  disciples  and  colleagues,  we  behold  a  new  life 
springing  up  in  Judaism,  penetrating  the  homes  and  hearts 
of  the  Jewish  people.  Hillel's  originality  and  independence 
of  mind  are  the  best  proofs  of  his  manliness. 

His  mental  and  moral  faculties  ripen  under  the  influence 
of  self-discipline  and  self-control,  and  convert  the  elements  of 
human  nature  into  a  perfect  organization  of  human  character. 
Shammai  is  stubborn,  Hillel  is  firm  ;  Shammai  is  a  negative 
religious  zealot,  Hillel  a  liberal  teacher  of  a  positive  religion. 
And  as  Hillel's  character  was  the  best  exemplification  of  his 
ethical  proverb,  so  is  the  character  of  any  man  who  acts 
upon  it  and  abides  by  its  moral  standard.  Pie  who  under- 
stands how  to  be  a  man  among  those  who  are  unsettled  in 
their  opinions  and  vague  in  their  ideas,  who  loses  not  the  equil- 
ibrium of  his  mind  amidst  the  diversity  and  variety  of  indi- 
vidual volition,  is  truly  the  masterpiece  of  God's  creation, 
and  worthy  of  the  patent  of  nobility  which  the  Deity  has  be- 
tsowed  upon  the  mortal  in  the  glorious  title — Man.  Neither 
sentimentality  nor  skepticism,  neither  materialism  nor  mys- 
ticism, can  rule  his  emotions  and  govern  his  will.  He  takes 
counsel  with  his  own  soul ;  he  reads,  hears  and  investigates ; 
but  no  other  test  than  that  of  truth  is  applied  to  knowl- 
edge thus  acquired. 


—97  — 

Mind  and  heart  sit  together  in  judgment,  and  to  their  joint 
verdict  he  submits  the  important  questions  of  the  times.     In 
matters  of  religion  and  religious  reform  this  great  quality  of 
human  character  is  a  most  important  element.     Leaving  this 
element  out  in  the  evolution  of  the  religious  sentiment  and 
in  the  development  of  any  positive  religion,  progress  and  re- 
form would  be  almost  impossible.     Whoever  kindled  the  fire 
of  holiness  upon  the  altar  of  religion  had  first  to  strive  to  be 
a  man ;  that  is,  to  learn  self-government  and  self-denial,  to 
obtain  all  those  virtues  which  give  him  a  right  to  bear  this 
most  honorary  title.     Whoever  undertook  the  solemn  task  of 
proclaiming  freedom  to  the  oppressed,  light  to  those  in  dark- 
ness and  redemption  to  those  in  bondage,  had  first  of  all  to 
be  a  man  in  all  the  nobility  of  character  and  sentiment; 
he  had  to  stand  upon  that  elevation  to  which  he  intended  to 
lift  his  unfortunate  fellow-men.  Behold  our  immortal  teacher, 
the  standard-bearer  of  moral  ethics !     What  is  the  basis  of 
his  illustrious  fame?     What  is  the  fundamental  principle  of 
his   character?     Why  does  he  stand  so  far  above  the  legisla- 
tors of  the  ancient  and  modern  world,  to  conceive  ideas  so 
grand  and  noble,  written  with  letters  of  gold  upon  the  magna 
charta  of  humanity?  Ah,  my  friends,  Viwn  DWM  |W  mpoa 
B"K  nw6.     When  his   brethren  were  yet  under   the  ban  of 
oppression— when  they  were  not  freemen  to  think  for  them- 
selves—he strove  to  be  a  man. 

Scripture  relates  that  Moses,  when  he  went  out  to  his 
brethren,  witnessed  the  scene  of  an  Egyptian  beating  an  Is- 
raelite, which  occurrence  is  recorded  in  the  following  lan- 
guage :  B»K  r«  '2  N"^  nm  H3  ta*l  "  He  turned  in  every 
direction,  and  he  saw  there  was  no  man."  An  ancient 
Midrash,  commenting  upon  this  passage,  says:  Moses 
turned  around  to  see  whether  men  could  be  found  in 
Israel  who,  like  him,  would  have  the  manhood  to  stand  up 
for  a  persecuted  race,  to  defend  the  weak  and  maintain  the 
principles  of  freedom  and  justice.  But  there  was  none  to 
cheer  him  in  the  heroic  task  of  redemption ;  none  to  unite 
with  him  in  the  solemn  protest  against  tyranny  and  despot- 


—  98  — 

ism.  But  in  his  soul  the  religion  of  manhood  had  already- 
taken  deep  root,  and  because  others  were  wanting  to  feel  and 
comprehend  the  duties  of  the  hour,  he  imposed  the  gigantic 
work  upon  himself.  Turning  a  deaf  ear  to  the  soul-degrad- 
ing teachings  of  the  priests,  he  listened  to  the  voice  of  reason 
and  humanity,  teaching  him  a  better  conception  of  godliness 
and  virtue,  of  God  and  man,  and  he  hesitated  not  to  obey 
this  great  call.  Renouncing  all  the  sensual  pleasures  which 
Pharaoh's  court  offered  him,  resigning  the  royal  honors  and 
privileges  which  he  enjoyed  as  a  prince,  he  became  rather  a 
wanderer  in  the  desert  than  a  deserter  from  duty;  and  there, 
in  solemn  communion  with  his  God,  he  decided  to  go  forth 
as  a  man,  as  the  leader  of  his  people,  to  demand  of  the  tyran- 
nical Pharaoh,  in  the  name  of  God,  in  the  name  of  all  that  is 
right  and  true,  that  the  slavery  and  oppression  of  his  people 
should  cease,  that  the  native  manhood  of  their  souls  should 
not  be  destroyed  beneath  the  excessive  burden  of  labor  and 
sorrow.  It  was  this  manliness,  fidelity  and  firmness  of  Moses 
which  made  him  a  fit  instrument  in  the  hands  of  Divine 
Providence  to  build  the  grand  structure  of  Judaism  and 
frame  its  laws  and  statutes.  Because  of  the  manhood  of  the 
religious  sentiment  in  him,  he  could  give  to  the  Israelites  a 
code  of  ethics  which  endowed  them  with  such  moral  strength, 
and  which  richly  deserves  the  title,  Religion  of  Manhood. 
The  highest  encomium  of  praise  which,  therefore,  the  Bible 
bestows  upon  Moses  is  expressed  in  the  significant  words  : 
npio  B^Nm  "The  man  Moses."  No  high-sounding  and 
pompous  titles,  as  they  are  found  in  the  religious  books  of 
ancient  Egypt,  or  exhibited  so  conspicuously  by  our  modern 
religious  teachers,  are  bestowed  upon  Moses;  the  title  of  true 
manhood  is  nobler  and  greater  than  any  title  human  inven- 
tion could  suggest. 

And  this  spirit  of  manliness  impressed  itself  upon  ancient 
Israel  and  upon  Judaism ;  its  traces  are  visible  in  the  char- 
acter and  practices  of  the  Jewish  people.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  the  religious  precepts  and  ordinances  of  Judaism  were 
mostly  intrusted  and  recommended  to  the  care  and  activity 


—  99  — 

of  men  in  order  that  the  religious  sentiment  may  partake  of 
the  vigor  and  energy  of  masculine  discipline,  and  thus  resist 
and  survive  the  most  adverse  conditions.  Objectively  con- 
sidered, these  measures  were  not  to  serve  as  a  disfranchise- 
ment of  the  women  of  Israel,  but  as  means  to  endow  Judaism 
with  manly  fortitude  and  lasting  vitality;  and  history  testi- 
fies to  the  efficacy  of  this  educational  principle.  The  fidelity 
of  Israel  to  his  God  and  his  holy  mission,  the  tenacity  and 
perseverance  which  our  people  manifested  in  the  midst  of  the 
dark  and  gloomy  days  of  religious  persecution,  testify  to  the 
magnitude  of  that  divine  energy,  begotten  by  manliness.  The 
nations  of  the  earth,  however,  never  called  this  prominent 
virtue  by  the  right  name ;  they  never  called  it  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  human  dignity,  "  the  constancy  and  firmness  of  the 
religious  sentiment."  They  never  accorded  to  Judaism  the 
noble  title,  "  Religion  of  Manhood."  The  contemporaries  of 
Israel  of  the  past  called  it  obstinacy,  stubborness  and  infidel- 
ity. The  age  in  which  they  lived  hurled  curses  upon  them, 
denounced  them  as  heretics,  persecuted  them  and  burned  them 
because  they  would  not  bow  down  to  the  gods  of  the  multitude, 
because  they  would  not  embrace  the  theology  of  the  masses. 
Even  to  this  very  clay  the  Israelite  is  frequently  charged  with 
obstinacy  and  infatuation,  because  he  has  the  manhood  to  cling 
to  the  religion  of  reason  and  love,  and  thinks  he  serves  God  best 
by  having  the  highest  conception  of  him,  and  by  discharging 
his  duty  toward  his  fellow-men  in  the  spirit  of  integrity, 
manliness  and  fidelity.  And  yet  that  very  religion  of  man- 
hood which  Israel  so  firmly  maintained,  and  which  they  in- 
fused into  every  fibre  of  their  being,  was  the  great  omnipotent 
power  that  upheld  them  in  their  fidelity  to  their  God  and  their 
conscience  ;  it  was  the  strong  armor  of  self-reliance  and  faith- 
fulness, these  principles  of  religious  manhood,  which  ripened 
them  into  thinking  men,  which  made  them  useful  men,  with 
minds  full  of  intelligence  and  hearts  full  of  charity  and  love- 
When  other  men  hardly  dared  to  think  for  themselves,  when 
priestcraft  and  ignorance  had  smothered  the  noblest  impulses 
and    feelings    of   the    human    heart    tfBOK    |W    Dipon    in 


—  100  — 

places,  where  true  men  were  wanting,  the  Israelite  put  forth 
his  mental  activity,  his  moral  discipline,  and  tried  to  be  a 
man  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word. 

Even  so,  brethren,  should  the  ethical  precept  of  Hillel  be 
embraced  in  our  line  of  conduct  at  the  present  time.     To-day 
the  religious  life  in  Israel  is  in  a  transitory  state,  and  the  re- 
ligious sentiment  in  general  is  subjected  to  great  changes ; 
the  intensity  of  the  old  spirit  is  broken  before  the  spirit  of  the 
age.     There  is  a  confusion  of  ideas,  a  shifting  of  opinions  on 
religion  which   bewilders   the   mind,  especially  that  of  the 
young.     There  is  conflict  of  opinion  and  conviction,  produc- 
ing conflict  of  action,  and  every  hour  brings  forth  a  new  rev- 
elation  of  philosophy,  around  which  new  disciples  gather. 
Some  expound  the  principles  of  availability  and  utility,  and 
argue  that  all  religious  questions  in  Israel  should  be  settled 
by  that  standard.     Others  advocate  that  the  binding  force  of 
authority  should  yet  be  recognized  in  the  religious  life  of 
Israel.     And   then  steps   forth  the  sensualist,  and,  like  the 
Epicuros  of  Hillel's  time,  desires  religion  and  religious  duty 
to  be  stricken  out  of  the  book  of  life  as  impediments  to  sen- 
sual indulgence ;  without  a  blush  he  proclaims  as  his  doc- 
trine :  TWD2  "iriB  *3  IflDI  S>"DK  "Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-mor- 
row we  must  die"  (Isaiah  xxii.  13).  And  the  materialists,  wor- 
shiping matter  and  denying  God,  with  terrible  indifference 
endeavors   to  make   propaganda   for  his  cheerless  philoso- 
phy that   there   is    no    conscience,   no    moral    responsibil- 
ity, no  higher  law  and  no  higher  duty,  that  all  is  matter,  and 
that  the  best  thing  man  can  do  is  to  die  and  go  down  into  the 
Nirwana  of  entire   annihilation.     Many    superficial    minds 
have   lost   the  exercise  of  their  mental   faculties,  and   are 
swayed  to  and  fro  by  this  tempest  of  modern  belief  and  un- 
belief, renouncing  to-morrow  what  they  believed  to-day,  and 
finally  choosing  the  indolence  of  negative  thinking  and  nega- 
tive living.     But  we  Israelites  should  not  follow  their  exam- 
ple ;  we  must  not  shirk  the  solemn  duty  of  a  deeper  reasoning 
and  of  a  more  deliberate  judgment,  D'BUX  ?&&  mpD3  because 
true  men  are  wanting,    who   will  patiently  and    conscien- 


—  101  — 

tiously  judge  the  merits  and  efficacy  of  religion,  who  would 
solemnly  deliberate  before  they  abandon  the  higher  spheres 
of  a  spiritual  life.  It  is  our  duty,  as  sons  of  the  Most  High, 
to  be  men,  men  who  are  faithful  to  their  conscience  and  mind- 
ful of  the  higher  destiny  of  human  life.  It  is  true,  in  an  age 
like  ours,  it  requires  much  of  self-denial,  much  of  indepen- 
dence of  mind,  to  rise  above  the  multitudes,  and  to  resist  the 
strong  current  of  popular  philosophy ;  but  the  very  language 
of  our  text  indicates  the  strength  that  is  required  for  the 
struggle  in  behalf  of  the  good,  noble  and  true. 

TlH^rij  a  word  of  Aramaic  origin,  means  to  make  the 
most  earnest  and  most  strenuous  efforts  to  put  forth  all  ener- 
gies and  to  unite  them  for  one  solemn  purpose — to  conquer 
at  last.  Thus,  only  he  has  reached  the  height  of  a  spiritual 
manhood  who  dedicated  every  faculty  of  his  heart  and  brain 
to  the  higher  objects  of  life,  and  who  never  suffered  one  par- 
ticle of  religious  sentiment  to  be  lost  on  account  of  the  ma- 
terialistic and  utilitarian  tendencies  of  the  age.  Give  me 
men,  true  men,  who  are  willing  to  test  the  efficacy  of  our 
heaven-born  faith,  and  I  fear  not  to  meet  any  issue  of  our 
time,  any  religious  question  of  the  present  day. 

As  long  as  there  are  Israelites  who,  endowed  with  the  spirit 
of  manhood,  are  willing  to  exercise  the  faculties  of  heart  and 
mind  in  behalf  of  their  religion — as  long  as  they  believe  in  the 
dignity  of  human  character  and  the  exaltation  of  virtue — Ju- 
daism will  live,  no  matter  what  outward  changes  it  is  com- 
pelled to  undergo.  It  is  Pessimism  only,  the  surrender  of 
the  good  and  noble,  the  negation  of  beauty  and  happiness, 
which  kills  the  spirit  in  man  and  frustrates  the  divine  pur- 
pose of  a  rational  religion.  The  religious  teacher  in  Israel 
especially  should  remember  this,  and  not  give  up  his  faith  in 
human  nature  and  in  the  efficacy  of  the  religious  sentiment. 
No  system  of  speculative  philosophy  must  tempt  him ;  no 
literature  must  be  absorbed  by  his  mind,  to  hold  exclusive 
sway  over  his  judgment,  or  else  he  will  be  shifting  to  and  fro 
like  a  ship  without  a  compass.  He  must  not  be  a  Pessimist 
to-day  because  he  read  Schoppenhauer's  works  or  the  "Bech- 


—  102  — 

inath  Olom "  of  Bechayab  yesterday ;  he  must  not  preach 
utilitarianism  on  the  Sabbath  because  he  read  John  Stuart 
Mill's  "  Essays  "  on  Friday  eve.  The  demands  of  the  human 
heart  and  soul  must  be  his  compass  to  guide  him  upon  the 
ocean  of  thought.  These  will  always  remain  the  same  in 
men  ;  books,  however,  are  fallible,  and  philosophers  err.  No 
matter  how  many  go  astray  in  the  bewildering  paths  of  neg- 
ative speculations,  the  religious  teacher  in  Israel  should  stand 
firm  and  immovable  upon  the  positive  principle  of  Judaism  : 
G^N  nvnS  Sinpn  D'BttM  r«B>  taipoa  Because  men  are  losing 
their  independence  of  thought  in  matters  pertaining  to 
religion,  because  congregations  are  sometimes  made  up  of 
indifferent  and  negative  people,  it  is  his  duty  to  maintain  his 
manliness,  his  fidelity  and  constancy,  to  appeal  to  the  mind 
and  heart  with  equal  force,  so  as  to  call  out  the  whole  divine 
energy  of  the  people. 

To  you,  my  sisters,  the  maxim  of  Hillel  also  recommends 
itself  for  consideration.     You  must  not  think  that,  because  I 
spoke  of  manhood,  manliness  and  manly  energy,  this  is  a  ser- 
mon to  men  exclusively.     By  no  means  ;  whenever  the  relig- 
ious  culture   of  Israel   is  under   discussion,  it   is  of  deep 
concern  to  the  women  of  Israel.     Aye,  they  are  even  more 
active,  more  co-operative  in  the  cause  of  religion  ;  they  are 
more  susceptible  to  the  benign  influences  of  religious  educa- 
tion than  men.     The  overwise  sages  of  our  time  desire  to 
ascribe  this  to  the  weakness  of  feminine  character,  but  they 
fail  in  their  effort.     On  the  contrary,  it  gives  evidence  of  the 
wealth  of  sentiment,  of  the  depth  of  feeling,  and  of  moral 
strength  as  it  is  in  woman.     A  religious  woman  is  by  far 
stronger  than  an  irreligious  man.     To  be  truly  religious  re- 
quires, above  all,  self-denial,  moral  discipline  and  unselfish 
love,  and  who  is  stronger  in  these  than  a  mother,  a  wife? 
Truly  there  is  spiritual  manhood  in  woman,  and  it  often  built 
up  religion  where  the  faithlessness  and  indifference  of  men 
had  laid  it   waste.     Therefore,  my  nister,  if  father,  husband, 
son  and  brother  lack  the  true  spirit  to  lift  on  high  the  stan- 
dard of  religion,  do  thou  plead  in  behalf  of  the  noble  and  the 


—  103  — 

good ;  hesitate  not  to  put  forth  all  the  energies  of  heart  and 
mind  and  to  dedicate  them  to  the  highest  ideal  of  moral  per- 
fection. 

Where  men  are  wanting  to  devote  themselves  to  the  cul- 
ture and  elevation  of  human  character,  where  they  cast  off 
the  higher  conception  of  human  life  for  lower  propensities, 
strive  thou  to  manifest  manliness  of  conviction  and  the  moral 
strength  of  character,  and  men  will  appear  as  weak  and  frail 
when  compared  with  the  inspired  and  devoted  women  of  Is- 
rael.    It  will  demonstrate  that  religious  discipline  and  moral 
culture  give  life  and  strength  to  the  mind  and  heart,  and 
not  the  brutal  force   of  physical  power.     Such  a  religious 
manhood  once  recognized,  will  dispel  all  Pessimistic  views 
about  the  use  of  religion  and  the  future  of  Judaism.     This 
once  acknowledged,   every  Israelite   would  be   ashamed   to 
shirk  his  duty  or  to  be  classed  with  the  negative  know-noth- 
ing and  do-nothing  party  in  Judaism.     Every  Jewish  heart 
would  be  filled  with  the  glorious  promise  of  a  better  future, 
for,  in  the  effort  to  learn  how  to  become  true  men,  we  have 
already  learned  how  to  become  faithful  and  enlightened  Is- 
raelites ;  the  spirit  of  confidence  would  inspire  us  to  trust 
in   the  development  and   progress   of    our   religion   as  the 
mariner  trusts  in  the  ship  that  carries  him  beyond  the  ocean. 
If  we  are  true  men,  we  will  rest  secure  that  Judaism  will  ful- 
fill the  mission  assigned  to  it  here  on  earth ;  if  we  are  true 
men,  we  will  not  despair  in  the  efficacy  of  our  religion  nor 
give  up  our  faith  in  human  nature.     Judaism  possesses  a 
divine  energy ;  with  that,  it  will  stand  ;  without  it,  it  would 
cease  to  exist,  be  it  linked  to  the  earth  with  a  thousand 
chains.     Therefore,  brethren,  be  men  who  stand  firm  amidst 
all  conflicting  opinions,  ideas  and  theories  of  our  time — men 
who  would,  at  least,  not   sacrifice  eternal  principles  to  tem- 
poral policy,  to  availability  and  convenience,  but  who,  clothed 
in  the  radiant  glory  of  a  spiritual  manhood,  cling  to  Judaism, 
to  their  God,  and  all  that  is  noble  and  good  in  fidelity  and 
truth.     Amen. 


THE  IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL 


BY  REV.  JAMES  K.  GUTHEIM. 


The  immortality  of  the  soul,  the  belief  in  the  continued 
spiritual  existence  of  man  after  death,  is  one  of  the  cardinal 
doctrines,  a  dogma  of  Judaism.  The  belief  in  immortality  is 
inseparable  from  the  belief  in  God,  and  hence  we  find  that 
throughout  our  religious  records,  from  the  very  chapter 
on  the  creation  of  man,  this  doctrine  is  either  implied  or  dis- 
tinctly expressed.  It  is  a  product  grown  and  nurtured  in 
the  soil  of  Judaism,  and  as  such  has  been  transplanted  to 
those  religious  creeds  which  have  sprung  from  Judaism.  In 
proposing  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as  the  theme  of  our 
meditation,  I  do  not  intend  to  trace  the  historical  develop- 
ment of  this  most  important  doctrine,  nor  to  enter  the  field 
of  speculation  regarding  the  precise  nature  of  the  future 
state,  but  simply  to  illustrate  this  grand  truth  by  such  argu- 
ments as  are  directly  furnished  by  human  nature  itself — 
arguments  which  common  sense  must  acknowledge  to  be 
self-evident,  and  to  which  even  the  materialist  and  skeptic 
must  give  reluctant  consent.  I  have  selected  for  my  text  the 
eighth  verse  of  the  thirty-second  chapter  of  Job  : 

DJ'1  noD  HE*  riDEOi  enJfcO  KTi  rrn  pK  "  Surely  there  is  a 
spirit  in  man,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  gives  them 
understanding." 

Man  is  created  in  the  image  of  God,  and  consequently,  in 
his  spiritual  nature  and  faculties,  presents  unmistakable 
marks  of  immortality. 

First,  then,  we  have  a  bright  indication  of  the  reality  of  a 
future   existence   in   the   inexhaustible   love    of  knowledge 


—  106  — 

which  animates  the  human  understanding.  God  has  given 
to  man  a  spirit  which  is  evidently  designed  to  expand 
through  the  universe,  which  disdains  the  confinement  of 
space,  and  which,  although  for  ages  it  has  been  making  pro- 
gress in  the  knowledge  of  nature,  still  thirsts  for  more  ex- 
tended information.  There  is  a  restlessness  in  the  human 
mind  which  no  acquisition  can  allay.  Thought  is  forever 
enlarging  its  horizon. 

Were  man  destined  to  live  only  in  this  world,  his  desires 
and  powers  would  have  been  fitted  wholly  for  this  world,  and 
his  capacities  would  have  been  limited  to  the  means  of  pres- 
ent enjoyment.  But  now  his  faculties  are  continually  over- 
leaping the  bounds  of  earth ;  he  delights  in  discoveries  which 
have  no  relation  to  his  existence  on  this  planet ;  he  calls 
science  and  art  to  his  aid,  not  merely  to  render  life  comfort- 
able, but  to  assist  him  in  the  most  remote  researches ;  invents 
instruments  which  extend  his  sight  beyond  these  visible 
heavens,  and  reveal  hidden  stars  and  sidereal  systems ;  and 
presses  on  and  on  to  fathom  the  profoundest  secrets  of  the 
universe.  The  human  mind  has  an  intense  delight  in  what 
is  vast  and  unexplored.  Does  such  a  mind  carry  with  it  no 
proof  that  it  is  destined  to  wider  spheres  of  experience  than 
earth  affords — that  it  is  designed  to  improve  forever  in  the 
knowledge  of  God's  wonderful  works? 

In  man's  power  of  looking  forward  with  hope  to  distant 
and  everlasting  ages  we  have  a  second  clear  mark  of  a  being 
destined  to  another  existence.  Were  this  world  everything 
to  man,  his  longings  would  not  stray  beyond  its  brief  span. 
His  anticipations  would  be  proportioned  to  his  being.  Of 
what  use,  except  to  torment  him,  would  be  the  idea  of  eternity 
to  a  creature  of  time?  Why  kindle  in  man  the  sublime  sen- 
timent of  immortality  if  the  grave  is  to  be  his  doom?  "  Truly 
there  is  a  spirit  in  man,"  SvE£  nf?K  pSn  "  a  portion  of  God 
from  on  high,"  which  from  him  came  and  to  him  will  return. 

Our  capacity  of  knowing  God  is  another  indication  that 
we  are  appointed  to  future  modes  of  being.  The  human  mind 
is  not  limited  to  objects  of  sense.     It  has  a  relish  for  the 


—  107  — 

abstract,  the  unseen.  It  forever  tends  to  rise  from  the  effect 
to  the  cause,  from  creation  to  its  author.  This  tendency  may- 
be pronounced  one  of  the  essential,  instinctive  principles  of 
our  nature. 

Nor  is  this  desire  of  acquaintance  with  God  slight  and 
transient.  The  human  mind,  by  cultivation  of  pious  senti- 
ments, may  be  and  has  often  been  raised  to  an  intimate  union 
with  the  Divine  Being,  to  a  vivid  feeling  of  His  presence,  to  an 
habitual  discernment  of  Him  in  His  works  and  providence. 
It  has  attained  to  sentiments  of  rapture,  to  more  than  earthly 
joy,  in  praising,  adoring,  thanking  Him  ;  and  just  in  propor- 
tion as  the  heart  is  the  abode  of  these  generous  emotions,  it 
desires  a  nearer  approach  to  the  Divinity,  and  longs  for  an 
improved  condition  in  which  God  may  be  worshiped  with 
pure  and  perfect  love.  When  a  mind  has  thus  become  alive 
to  God,  it  clings  to  existence  with  increasing  earnestness. 
It  can  not  endure  the  thought  of  being  blotted  out  from 
among  God's  works,  of  being  deprived  of  the  consciousness 
of  his  perfections,  of  losing  forever  his  protection  and  favor. 
Piety  necessarily  takes  this  form  of  desire  for  near  commu- 
nion with  the  infinite  Being  in  a  future,  better,  endless  exist- 
ence ;  and  what  else  do  all  these  aspirations  indicate  but  the 
reality  of  a  future  state? 

It  is  for  the  cultivation  of  this  sentiment  that  Moses  en- 
joined the  followers  of  the  Eternal,  "H  ns  Dnm  "  You  shall 
know  the  Lord,"  13  npmSl  "  You  shall  cling  to  the  Lord." 
The  Psalmist  gives  utterance  to  this  sentiment  in  the  pathetic 
words,  31 D  *h  wnbtt  nznp  "  The  striving  for  God  is  my  hap- 
piness." 

We  have  another  indication  of  man's  future  life  in  the 
moral  sensibility  which  God  has  imparted  to  his  soul. 

The  human  mind,  notwithstanding  its  frequent  aberrations, 
has  something  in  it  congenial  with  excellence.  It  delights  to 
hear  and  read  of  angelic  worth  and  greatness  of  character.  It 
loves  to  conceive  of  more  perfect  forms  of  human  nature  than 
real  life  exhibits.  To  this  propensity  poetry  and  fiction  are 
indebted  for  their  origin.     Especially  when  the  mind  has 


—  108  — 

been  refined  by  the  practice  of  goodness  does  it  naturally 
.represent  to  itself  a  beauty  of  virtue,  such  as  has  never  been 
attained  on  earth.  It  is  dissatisfied  with  all  that  it  has 
gained,  and  pants  for  greater  purity.  Its  very  improvements 
prompt  it  to  desire  a  better  existence,  where  present  stains 
and  imperfections  will  be  done  away,  where  it  will  fill  a  wider 
sphere  of  usefulness,  where  it  may  be  united  with  the  excel- 
lent, whom  it  admires  and  loves,  and  become  worthy  of  their 
friendship.  This  delight  in  goodness,  this  thirst  for  perfec- 
tion with  which  the  human  mind  is  instinct,  is  full  of  prom- 
ise. Were  this  life  everything  to  us,  would  God  have  formed 
us  thus  capable  of  conceiving  and  desiring  heights  of  excel- 
lence, which  in  this  life  are  unattainable?  Will  he  crush  the 
hope  of  moral  progress,  to  which  our  very  virtues  give 
intenseness?     We  are  reassured  by  the  Psalmist : 

"  God  has  made  known  to  us  the  path  of  life  :  fullness  of  joy 
is  in  his  presence,  at  his  right  hand  happiness  forever  more." 
(Ps.  xvi.) 

The  man  of  piety,  refinement  and  sensibility  finds  himself, 
as  it  were,  in  accord  with  universal  nature.  Every  scene, 
every  season,  touches  some  spring  in  his  heart.  The  stream, 
the  mountain,  the  ocean,  the  clouds,  the  distant  constella- 
tions, all  speak  to  him  in  a  language  that  he  understands. 
There  is  something  in  him  akin  to  all  this  beauty  and  sub- 
limity that  gives  him  a  claim  to  property  in  the  whole  crea- 
tion. There  is  especially  in  the  soul  a  sensibility  to  the 
grand,  awful  scenes  of  nature.  Whatever  bears  the  impress 
of  infinite  majesty,  whatever  is  too  vast  to  be  grasped  by  the 
senses,  brings  to  the  heart  a  mysterious  delight.  The  storm, 
the  thunder,  the  raging  ocean,  fearful  as  they  are,  still  awaken 
a  solemn  pleasure,  for  they  speak  to  us  of  Almighty  power, 
and  accord  with  our  love  of  greatness.  Now,  this  sensibility 
to  whatever  is  great  and  fair  in  universal  nature  seems  to  at- 
test the  glory  of  the  human  soul  and  to  point  to  it  a  sublime 
destiny.  Why  has  God  placed  man  within  this  boundless 
theater,  revealed  around  him  this  endless  creation,  touched 


N 


—  109  — 

his  heart  with  the  love  of  beauty,  and  given  him  this  delight- 
ful and  awful  interest  in  all  that  meets  his  eye.  if  he  is  merely 
a  creature  of  the  earth,  soon  to  shut  his  eyes  on  these  majes- 
tic scenes  and  to  be  buried  forever  in  a  narrow  grave?  Does 
this  love  of  the  infinite,  this  attachment  to  the  universe,  seem 
suitable  to  so  frail  a  nature?  Do  they  not  suggest  the  idea 
of  a  being  who  belongs  to  the  universe  and  who  is  to  fill  an 
ever- widening  sphere? 

But  there  is  another  and  more  decisive  indication  of  future 
life,  which  is  furnished  us  by  human  nature.  I  refer  to  the 
capacity  which  man  actually  possesses  of  attaining  to  great- 
ness of  character.  While  man,  in  general,  falls  far  below 
the  perfection  he  desires,  yet  he  is  sometimes  seen  to  ascend 
to  a  sublimity  of  virtue  which  does  honor  to  our  nature  and 
proves  that  it  was  framed  for  heaven.  We  discover  in  his- 
tory and  real  life  persons  not  merely  faithful  in  their  regard 
to  the  prescribed  duties  of  life,  but  who  are  tilled  with  a  grand 
disinterestedness  of  character,  a  sublime  goodness,  which 
outstrips  what  is  positively  demanded,  which  is  prodigal  of 
service  to  God  and  man,  and  overflows  with  sacrifices  and 
sufferings  in  the  cause  of  duty. 

These  great  examples  show  us  what  man  may  become  and 
what  he  is  destined  to  be.  These  are  lineaments  of  a  noble 
nature,  marks  of  a  sublime  capacity,  a  sublime  destiny.  We 
all  have  sometimes  seen  human  nature  manifested  in  these 
honorable  forms,  have  seen  great  temptations  and  calamities 
calling  forth  great  virtues,  have  seen  the  human  countenance 
bright  with  the  expression  of  magnanimous  affections,  and 
have  felt  how  lovely  and  how  glorious  may  be  humanity. 
And  can  we  believe  that  the  soul  of  man,  gifted  with  such 
capacities,  is  created  for  a  day?  Can  we  think  that  the  great 
men,  who  have  thrown  such  light  on  the  past  that  it  yet  illu- 
mines the  present,  were  but  meteors,  extinguished  as  soon  as 
kindled,  in  the  midst  of  their  glory?  Why  were  such  sublime 
capacities  given  to  a  being  of  so  humble  a  destiny?  Does 
the  All-wise  Creator  thus  waste  his  noblest  gifts,  and  is  so 


—  110- 
unconcernecl  for  those  on  whom  these  gifts  have  been  be- 
stowed? 

It  is  a  natural  sentiment,  entitled  to  respect,  that  exalted 
goodness  can  not  perish.  It  is  fitted  for  a  better  world  than 
this,  and  the  Creator  would  be  dishonored  were  his  noblest 
work  to  be  lost,  Nature  may  pass  away,  but  can  goodness, 
sublime  goodness,  that  image  of  God,  be  destroyed  !  And  if 
human  nature  be  capable  of  this  goodness,  is  it  not  destined 
to  immortality? 

Another  indication  of  a  future  state  suggested  by  our  na- 
ture is  to  be  found  in  the  triumph  which  man  often  obtains 
over  death,  in  the  manner  in  which  he  passes  through  the 
last  change. 

To  the  sensible  appearances  of  death,  so  sad  and  appalling, 
we  should  do  well  to  oppose  the  energy  of  soul  with  which  it 
is  often  encountered.  Then  death  itself  will  furnish  us  with 
a  proof  of  immortality.  Sometimes  the  hour  of  death  is  an 
hour  of  peculiar  glory  for  human  nature.  Instead  of  being 
conquered,  man  is  seen  to  conquer  the  last  foe ;  and  he  seems 
to  suffer  only  that  the  greatness  of  humanity  may  be  devel- 
oped. In  instances  like  these  the  last  act  of  the  soul  is  an 
assertion  of  its  immortality.  Can  we  believe  that  this  mo- 
ment of  sublime  virtue  is  the  moment  of  annihilation,  that 
the  soul  is  extinguished  when  its  beauty  is  most  resplendent? 
If  God  intended  that  death  should  be  an  eternal  extinction, 
would  it  be  adorned,  as  it  often  is,  with  a  radiance  of  the 
noblest,  loveliest  sentiments  and  affections  of  our  nature? 
Would  the  greatest  triumph  of  man  be  a  harbinger  of  his 
ruin? 

There  is  another  view  yet  more  sublime.  I  refer  to  the 
death  of  the  martyr  to  his  religion,  to  his  country,  to  the 
cause  of  truth  and  human  improvement.  You  have  read  of 
men  who  preferred  death  to  desertion  of  duty.  They  encoun- 
tered the  menaces  of  power,  they  endured  the  gloom  of  pris- 
ons, and  at  length,  in  the  fulness  of  their  powers,  were  led  to 
the  place  of  execution.  Their  steps  never  faltered,  their  pur- 
pose never  wavered,  their  looks  were  firm,  yet  mild  and  for- 


—  Ill — 

giving ;  and,  with  an  unshaken  trust  in  God,  they  counted  it 
an  honor  to  suffer  in  his  cause. 

As  a  striking  example  of  heroic  martyrdom,  the  death  of 
R.  Akiba,  a  renowned  sage  and  patriot  in  the  days  of  Hadrian, 
may  be  cited  in  illustration.  The  hoar  of  his  execution  had 
arrived.  T.  Annius  Rufus,  a  pliant  tool  of  Hadrian's  ven- 
geance, intensified  the  agonies  of  death  by  fiendish 
torments,  in  ordering  him  to  be  flayed  with  iron  pincers. 
While  suffering  this  horrible  torture  the  great  martyr 
pronounced  the  "  Hear,  O  Israel,"  etc.  (the  Shema),  with 
a  smile  of  satisfaction.  Astounded  at  such  extraordinary 
fortitude,  Rufus  asked  him  if  he  was  a  sorcerer  to  re- 
main thus  unaffected  by  the  pain ;  whereupon  R.  Akiba 
answered  :  "  I  am  no  sorcerer;  I  only  rejoice  at  having  the 
opportunity  of  serving  God  with  my  life,  having  thus  far 
only  been  able  to  love  him  with  all  my  heart  and  all  my 
might." 

And  what  now  shall  we  say  of  death?  That  it  triumphed 
over  these  men  of  unsubdued  virtue — that  it  quenched  these 
bright  spirits?  Or  shall  we  rather  say  that  it  was  designed 
to  illustrate  the  immortal  energy  of  piety  and  virtue,  and  to 
show  that  the  faithful  soul  is  more  than  conqueror  over  the 
last  foe?  Can  we  think  that  God  impels  those  who  love  him 
by  the  best  principle  in  their  nature,  to  encounter  death  in 
its  most  dreadful  forms,  and  then  abandons  them  to  final  ex- 
tinction, at  the  very  moment  when  they  must  be  to  him  most 
worthy  of  his  love?  No,  no  !  b  lOBW  &6l  may  BPBJ  NVn  iTTlS 
12  DTinn  "  The  Lord  redeemeth  the  soul  of  his  servants,  and 
none  shall  be  desolate  who  trust  in  him."  (Ps.  xxxiv.) 

We  find  another  indication  of  immortality  in  our  nature, 
when  we  consider  the  principal  source  of  human  enjoyment. 
I  ask,  then,  what  is  this  principal  source  of  human  enjoy- 
ment? A  slight  observation  will  teach  us  that  happiness  is 
derived  chiefly  from  activity,  from  conscious  growth,  from  the 
successful  effort  to  improve  our  powers,  from  rising  by  our 
own  energy  to  an  improved  condition.  It  is  not  what  we 
have  already  gained,  be  it  knowledge,  property,  reputation  or 


-112- 

virtue,  which  constitutes  our  happiness,  so  much  as  the  ex- 
ertion of  our  faculties  in  further  acquisitions.  The  idea  of 
advancement  is,  of  all  others,  most  congenial  with  the  human 
mind.  We  delight  not  so  much  in  possession  as  in  pursuit, 
not  so  much  in  holding  the  prize  as  in  pressing  forward  to 
seize  it  with  the  eyes  of  hope.  The  feeling  of  progress  is  the 
great  spring  of  happiness ;  and  it  is  this  which  gives  cheer- 
fulness and  animation  under  the  severest  lot. 

Now,  what  does  such  a  nature  indicate?  Is  it  true  that 
man's  chief  happiness  consists  in  animated  pursuit,  in  con- 
sciousness of  improvement — that,  where  his  advancement  is 
most  swift  and  sure,  this  principle  most  prompts  him  to  press 
forward — is  not  perfection,  then,  the  end  of  his  being?  Is  he 
not  made  to  advance,  to  ascend  forever?  And  does  not  this 
soaring  nature  discover  a  being  designed  for  a  forever  bright- 
ening career?  Would  this  insatiable  thirst  for  progress  have 
been  given  to  a  creature  of  a  day,  whose  powers  are  to  perish 
just  when  beginning  to  unfold,  and  whose  attainments  are  to 
be  buried  with  him  in  eternal  oblivion?  If  this  world  were 
our  home  and  our  only  portion,  should  we  have  sentiments 
implanted  by  our  Creator  which  teach  us  to  live  above  it,  and 
impel  ;.is  to  feel  that  it  is  noble  to  renounce  it?  Were  this 
our  only  sphere  of  enjoyment,  could  we  ever  deem  it  beneath 
us,  unworthy  of  our  nature?  A  sage  of  the  Mishnah  has  em- 
bodied this  idea  in  one  concise  sentence  : 

nin  oSyn  *n  bin  van  dSjo  nn  rmp  S^  nnx  r\yv  ns*  "  One 
hour's  spiritual  happiness  in  the  future  world  is  preferable  to 
all  the  pleasures  of  this." 

But  this  is  not  all ;  we  not  only  honor  men  when  they  rise 
above  the  world,  its  pleasures  and  gains;  we  particularly  re- 
vere them  when  they  hold  life  itself  with  a  degree  of  indiffer- 
ence, when  they  disdain  it  in  comparison  with  principle  and 
virtue,  and  advance  to  meet  seeming  destruction  by  a  reso- 
lute and  unshaken  adherence  to  principle  and  duty.  On  the 
other  hand  we  feel  a  contempt  for  those  who  cling  to  life  as 
the  best  of  blessings.  We  can  not  endure  the  coward,  while 
we  are  lenient  even  toward  the  excess  of  courage.     We  view 


—  113  — 

with  admiration  the  man  who  is  prodigal  of  life  in  an  honor- 
able cause,  and  who  prefers  death  to  the  least  stain  of  guilt. 
Now,  these  feelings  surely  indicate  that  the  present  is  not 
our  whole  existence.  Were  this  life  everything  to  us,  should 
we  be  so  constituted  as  to  be  ready  to  cast  it  away  in  a  sacred 
cause?  Were  death  entire  and  eternal  extinction  of  all  our 
power  and  virtue,  would  the  welcoming  of  it  appear  the 
height  of  glory?  All  these  feelings  which  I  have  considered, 
which  are  inherent  in  human  nature,  and  which  prompt  us 
to  sacrifice  the  world  and  life  to  the  purity  of  the  soul,  are 
so  many  attestations  from  God  to  the  divine  character  of  the 
soul,  so  many  assurances  that  it  is  destined  for  higher  rela- 
tions than  those  which  it  now  sustains  to  the  body  and  the 
world ;  so  many  arguments  to  convince  us  that  our  soul  is 
immortal,  "that  there  is  a  spirit  in  man"  destined  to  eternal 
existence  in  the  heavenly  regions  of  bliss  with  our  Father  and 
our  God.    Amen. 


SERMON  AT  THE  DEDICATION  OF  A  NEW 
SEFER  TORAH. 


BY  DR.  M.  SCHLESINGER. 

{Of  Albany,  N.  Y.) 


It  is  a  strange  and  uncommon  ceremony  which  we  are 
gathered  here  to  witness — the  dedication  of  a  new  book. 
What  possible  importance  can  there  be  ascribed  to  a  new 
book  in  our  days?  In  our  days,  to  which  the  words  of  Ec- 
clesiastes  (xii.  12)  are  more  applicable  than  they  ever  were 
before,  "  of  making  many  books  there  is  no  end,"  when  the 
world  is  flooded  with  books,  one  book  more  or  less  can  mat- 
ter but  very  little.  It  is  true,  there  were  days  when  the  pos- 
session of  a  book  was  considered  a  fortune,  when  a  book  was 
bequeathed  from  father  to  son  as  a  most  valuable  part  of  the 
ancestral  inheritance,  and  was  carefully  kept  and  preserved 
as  a  family  heirloom.  But  nowadays  books  are  so  common, 
within  the  reach  of  all  and  everyone,  that  a  new  book,  we 
should  think,  ought  not  to  create  such  a  commotion  in  a 
community  as  this  has  done. 

If  the  book  we  are  here  to  dedicate  were  but  like  any  other 
book,  all  this  undoubtedly  would  be  true.  But  in  regard  to 
this  book,  strange  to  say,  the  times  have  never  changed.  To 
this  very  day  this  book  is  considered  the  greatest  treasure 
within  the  family  to  which  it  rightfully  belongs— the  family 
of  Israel.  To  this  very  day  it  is  bequeathed  from  father  to 
son  as  the  most  precious  part  of  the  inheritance  that  came  to 
them  from  their  ancestors,  and  is  most  carefully  kept  and 
preserved.    And  well  does  it  deserve  all  the  care  and  love  and 


— 116  — 

reverence  bestowed  upon  it,  for  it  is  indeed  a  great  and  won- 
derful book. 

In  the  first  place,  let  me  remind  you  that  it  is  not,  exactly 
speaking,  a  new  book  ;  it  is  only  a  newly-written  book.  The 
book  itself  is  old — very  old — as  old  as  Israel.  It  has  been 
brought  forth  by  the  divine  spirit,  as  manifested  and  revealed 
within  this  people,  and,  therefore,  is  eminently  the  property 
of  Israel.  But  with  the  same  right  we  may  say,  this  book 
has  brought  forth,  preserved  and  kept  alive  the  people  of 
Israel.  Without  this  book  there  would  be  no  people  of  Is- 
rael ;  we  can  not  think  of  a  people  of  Israel  without  their 
Torah. 

This  book,  though  but  newly  written,  is  as  old  as  the  his- 
tory of  mankind ;  yet  it  is  not  antiquated.  To  this  very  day 
it  is  the  object  of  earnest  study  and  research,  the  inexhaust- 
ible source  of  instruction,  the  living  spring  from  which  gen- 
eration after  generation  has  drawn  the  purest  pleasure  and 
delight,  the  surest  comfort  and  consolation. 

It  is  not  only  as  old  as  the  history  of  mankind,  but  has 
exerted  an  influence  upon  this  history  that  can  never  be  com- 
puted. More  than  anything  else,  it  was  this  book  that 
formed  and  shaped  the  thought  and  feeling  of  all  people  that 
came  under  its  sway.  And  the  more  its  influence,  in  all  its 
simplicity  and  sublimity,  will  permeate  the  world — the  more 
the  divine  spirit,  which  breatheth  out  of  its  every  page,  will 
become  the  spirit  of  the  world — the  nearer  mankind  will  come 
to  those  ends  it  is  longing  for  :  to  universal  peace  and  good  will 
and  brotherly  love. 

This  book,  though  but  newly  written,  is  as  old  as  the  civ- 
ilization of  the  world,  and  was  no  mean  contributor  to,  and 
furtherer  of,  this  civilization.  Yet,  great  as  the  progress  of  a 
civilization  of  more  than  three  thousand  years  necessarily  is, 
immense  as  the  achievements,  especially  of  our  days,  are, 
they  have  not  left  behind  this  book  or  made  it  superfluous. 
In  many,  many  respects,  which  here  to  show  would  be  too 
tedious,  and  therefore  out  of  place,  the  civilization,  even  of 
our  days,  has  not  yet  reached  the  high  standard  set  forth  in 


— 117  — 

this  book,  though,  of  course,  in  many  other  respects  it  has 
gone  beyond  it. 

It  is  an  old,  old  book,  which,  different  from  all  other  books, 
always  remains  young  and  fresh  and  youthful.  It  is,  per- 
haps, on  this  account  that  we  Jews  retain  the  old  custom  in 
multiplying  the  book,  and  reject  the  modern  art  of  book- 
making.  It  is  not  printed,  nor  is  the  common  writing  ma- 
terial, paper,  made  use  of.  It  is  written  on  the  skin  of 
animals,  on  parchment — written  in  the  old  laborious  way,  by 
the  hand  of  man,  but  written  with  a  carefulness  and  minute- 
ness which  considered  every  little  stroke  of  the  smallest  let- 
ter ;  it  has  been  revised  and  searched  for  possible  errors  and 
mistakes  again  and  again,  that  the  old  book  indeed  might  be 
restored. 

You  see,  the  book  we  dedicate  is  an  uncommon  one ;  and 
if  it  be  true,  as  it  is,  what  the  ancient  poet  says,  "  that  books 
have  their  own  fate,"  the  fate  of  this  book  was  also  an  un- 
common one. 

It  was  no  other  than  that  of  Israel,  the  people,  which 
brought  it  forth  and  always  remained  its  responsible  owner. 
On  account  of  the  contents  of  this  book — that  is  to  say,  on 
account  of  their  religion — Israel  was  hated  and  despised  and 
persecuted  by  all  the  nations  of  the  civilized  world,  who, 
strange  to  say,  all  accepted  this  book  out  of  their  hands  as 
the  most  valuable  and  most  sacred.  Stranger  still,  with  one 
hand  the  nations  received  this  book  from  Israel,  and  the 
other  they  lifted  up  to  strike  at  both  Israel  and  the  book. 
Out  of  this  book  the  nations  took  the  sublime  doctrine, 
<•  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,"  "  Thou  shalt  love 
the  stranger  as  thyself,"  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Eternal,  thy 
God,  with  thy  whole  heart,  with  thy  whole  soul  and  with  thy 
whole  might."  Out  of  this  book  there  shone  forth  to  the 
world  the  true  religion  of  love,  and  for  the  people  which 
brought  them  this  book  they  had  nothing  but  hatred  and 
malice  and  persecution.  In  one  breath  even  now  they  praise 
this  book  as  the  holiest  and  divinest,  and  curse  the  Jew  and 
blaspheme  his  religion,  i.  e.,  this  book,  which,  as  they  say, 


—  118  — 

teaches  a  cruel  and  'revengeful  God ;  this  book  which,  when 
it  attempts  to  present  the  God  idea  to  the  human  mind, 
utters  the  sublime  thought :  "  The  Eternal,  the  Eternal  is 
merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering  and  abundant  in  good- 
ness and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  in- 
iquity, transgression  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means 
clear  the  guilty." 

Aye,  as  often  as  Israel  was  maligned,  misrepresented  and 
slandered,  this  book  also  was  maligned,  misrepresented  and 
slandered.  As  long  as  Israel  was  persecuted  and  hunted  out 
for  extermination,  this  book  also  was  persecuted  and  hunted 
out  for  destruction.  A  thousand  times  it  was  burnt  and 
torn  and  trodden  under  foot,  as  Israel  was  burnt  and  torn 
and  down-trodden;  yet -both  survived  their  persecutors.  Out 
of  fire  and  water,  from  the  rack  and  stake,  Israel  saved  noth- 
ing but  themselves  and  this  book. 

But  all  of  this  is  passed,  or  mostly  passed.  Thank  God  ! 
when  we  look  for  thejscenes  in  which  these  terrible  tragedies 
were  transacted,  we  have  to]look  over  the  wide  ocean  which 
separates  this  free  and  God-blessed  new  country  from  the 
old.  Our  country  has  no  part  in  these  horrible  crimes.  And 
in  this  new  country,  which 'at  last  has  become  the  refuge  of 
all  that  are  oppressed,  and  has  adopted  the  principle  laid  down 
in  this  new  book  :  u  One  Father  in  heaven  and  one  family  of 
men  here  on  earth,  who  are  all  equal  before  the  law,  as  they 
are  equal  before  Him  " — in  this  country  we  again  dedicate 
this  book  to  the  service  of  the  All-good  and  All-loving,  the 
Father  of  all. 

Israel  has  carried  this  book  whithersoever  they  wandered 
and  whithersoever  they  were  scattered ;  all  over  the  world  they 
have  planted  it  as  the  13  D^m»S  D"n  YV—the  tree  of  life 
for  those  who  take  hold  of  it.  They  have  planted  it  among 
the  nations,  and  to  them  all  it  has  proved  the  tree  of  all  spir- 
itual life,  the  precious  fruit  of  which  has  never  failed  to  those 
who  understood  to  pluck  it  therefrom;  those  who  leaned 
upon  it  were  ever  richly  blessed. 
It  was  the  banner  which  Israel  has  unfurled  to  the  breezes 


— 119  — 

of  the  world,  and  which  they  have  kept  unfurled  in  the  midst 
of  all  the  storms  and  tempests  that  accompanied  the  advanc- 
ing ages ;  under  it  they  have  fought  for  humanity  and  pro- 
gress and  enlightenment ;  to  it  they  ever  remained  true  and 
faithful,  ever  looked  up  for  renewed  strength  and  encourage- 
ment when  disheartened  and  discouraged  by  the  ill-will  and 
tardy  understanding  of  the  world. 

So  may  this  book,  now  dedicated,  prove  to  be  a  tree  of  life 
in  the  midst  of  this  congregation ;  may  its  fruit  ennoble  the 
heart  and  enlighten  the  mind ;  may  it  strengthen  the  faint 
and  support  the  weak ;  may  it  comfort  the  sorrow-stricken 
and  unburden  the  heavy-laden ;  may  it  be  a  banner  of  light 
under  which  all  shall  do  good  battle  for  the  enlightenment 
of  the  world,  for  love  and  peace  and  good-will  among  all  men, 
that  they  may  help  to  bring  about  the  day  when  10fijn  nriK  Yl 
inx,  as  the  Eternal  is  one,  so  His  name  shall  be  one  among 
all  men,  who  shall  stand  united  as  one  family  of  brothers,  all 
looking  up  to 'their  common  Father,  the  All-merciful  and 
gracious.    Amen. 


SERMON  AT  THE  DEDICATION  OF  A  BURY- 
ING GROUND. 


BY  DR.  M.  SCHLESINGER, 

(Of  Albany,  N.  Y.) 


nrn  pr?  wam  i:?rpi  irnnE  a?wn  *pra  wk  yi  nnx  7112 
Praised  be  thou,  Eternal,  King  of  the  Universe,  who  hast 
preserved  us  and  kept  us  alive  to  see  this  day.  We  render 
thanks  and  praises  to  thee,  0  Lord,  for  life  and  health,  as 
well  as  for  all  the  innumerable  benefits  which  thou  daily  be- 
stowest  upon  us ;  but  daily  we  remember  that  in  life  and 
health  we  have  to  prepare  for  death.  Therefore,  0  Lord,  we 
have  gathered  here  together  to  dedicate  these  grounds  as  the 
last  resting-place  of  the  body  after  the  soul  has  been  called 
to  thee,  whence  it  came.  In  thy  name,  0  God  of  Israel,  thou 
Eternal  One,  Lord  over  life  and  death,  we  dedicate  these 
grounds  as  the  D^yiva  gates  which  open  out  of  this  finite  world 
into  the  infinite,  where  thy  spirit  dwelleth  eternally.  Amen. 
My  friends,  it  is  a  solemn  occasion  which  has  brought  us 
together  here.  It  is  tne  truth  as  expressed  by  Ecclesiastes 
(ix.  5),  VlltW  DW  D«nfl  "The  living  know  that  they  shall 
die,"  which  has  moved  our  co-religionists  of  this  town,  though 
but  a  small  band  of  Jews,  to  acquire,  not  without  pecuniary 
sacrifices,  these  grounds,  and  set  them  apart  as  the  last  rest- 
ing-place for  them  and  theirs.  It  speaks  well  of  the  moral 
character  of  our  Jewish  brethren  in  this  place ;  for,  though  it 
be  true  that  the  living  know  that  they  shall  die,  there  are  but 
very  few  who  think  of  it  and  act  accordingly.  On  the  con- 
trary, most  men  live  and  act  as  if  the  thought  that  they  shall 
die  would  never  enter  their  minds.  Our  ancient  teacher  said  : 
pypnen  wane>  H3  intnaa  1W  fpnn  "  Prepare  thyself  here  on 
earth  as  in  an  ante-room,  which  shall  lead  thee  to  thy  real 


—  122  — 

habitation,  which  is  eternity."  By  acquiring  these  grounds 
our  co-religionists  have  shown  that  the  adage  of  our  sages 
has  become  their  guiding  star.  We  rejoice  to  see  that  they 
have  not  waited  until  the  Angel  of  Death  has  entered  one  of 
their  houses  and  thus  reminded  them  of  the  shortness  of  our 
journey  here  on  earth,  but  that  in  health  and  life,  yet  on  the 
high  ocean  of  their  journey,  they  have  looked  out  for  the 
still,  quiet  haven  where  their  broken  vessels  might  once  be 
safely  stowed  away;  have  secured  the  place  which  shall  once 
become  their  habitation  of  eternal  peace  and  rest. 

This  occasion,  therefore,  though  solemn  and  full  of  awe,  is 
not  without  its  joys.  Undisturbed  by  any  lamentation  and 
wailing,  we  can  rise  to  a  higher  standpoint  from  which  we 
may  calmly  and  serenely  look  upon  this  well-prepared  field 
which  shall  once  receive  the  seed  of  immortality,  once  be  filled 
with  those  little  but  so  very  significant  hills,  called  graves, 
the  tops  of  which  in  reality  reach  the  heavens. 

This  will  be  a  Jewish  burying-ground ;  and  if  no  thought- 
ful man  can  pass  a  burying-ground  without  being  touched  to 
the  quick,  without  casting  an  affectionate  glance  into  the 
past,  so  that  the  city  of  the  dead,  as  it  were,  was  opened  be- 
fore his  spiritual  eye,  and  he  behold  the  realm  of  which, 
sooner  or  later,  he,  too,  will  be  a  citizen  :  a  Jewish  burying- 
ground  must  do  all  this  in  a  still  higher  degree. 

Here  will  be  the  resting-place  of  the  descendants  of  Abra- 
ham ;  of  those  who,  at  the  behest  of  God  Almighty,  the  Lord 
over  life  and  death,  wandered  from  one  end  of  the  earth  to 
the  other,  all  over  carrying  with  them  his  holy  word,  all  over 
being  witnesses  of  his  greatness  and  goodness,  all  over  ador- 
ing and  worshiping  the  one  sole  God  of  heaven  and  earth ; 
of  those  who,  by  reason  of  their  unflinching  faithfulness  to 
their  great  mission  of  the  Eternal  One,  found  no  rest  nor 
peace  during  their  wanderings  through  the  ages  and  centu- 
ries, had  no  country  and  could  do  without  any,  because  the 
whole  earth  is  the  Lord's,  and  all  over  they  found  themselves 
under  his  protection.  The  only  possession  they  were  allowed 
to  take  of  this  earth  was  the  four  yards  of  ground  where  their 


—  123  — 

bodies  were  interred,  the  only  resting-place  that  was  not  be- 
grudged to  them  was — the  grave.  The  descendants  of  this 
wonderful  people  have  now  prepared  here,  on  this  free  and 
God-blessed  soil,  unstained  by  any  persecution  and  injustice 
of  this  kind,  this  their  last  resting-place. 

Very  remarkable !  Our  father  Abraham,  when,  at  the 
behest  of  the  Almighty,  he  had  gone  out  of  his  father's 
house  to  the  land  which  the  Lord  showed  him,  and  was  so- 
journing among  the  sons  of  Heth,  had  to  tell  them :  "  A 
stranger,  am  I  with  you,  have  no  possession  in  the  country ; 
the  only  possession  I  crave  is  a  sepulcher  where  I  may  bury 
my  dead." 

Of  the  land  of  his  promise  he  acquired  first  the  cave  of 
Machpelah,  with  the  surrounding  fields.  And  during  all  the 
thousands  of  years  after  him,  whithersoever  his  sons  and 
daughters  were  scattered,  often  hated  and  persecuted,  always 
misrepresented  and  misunderstood,  though  they  brought  the 
light,  the  spiritual  light  which  illuminated  the  moral  and 
spiritual  world — wherever  a  little  band  of  Jews,  the  descend- 
ants of  Abraham,  gathered  and  founded  a  home,  their 
first  and  special  care  it  was  and  is  to  acquire  a  sepulcher,  the 
ground  where  once  their  bodies  shall  rest  in  peace.  It  seems 
that,  as  long  as  they  have  not  acquired  this  last  resting- 
place,  they  retain  the  feeling  of  strangers  and  sojourners. 
But  this  place  once  acquired  and  the  soil  on  which  they  live  is 
holy  ground — is  their  country,  to  which  they  cling  with  the  un- 
dying affections  of  a  warm  and  enthusiastic  heart.  And,  in- 
deed, is  not  the  ground  on  which  the  cradle  of  our  children 
stood,  in  which  we  have  laid  away  the  earthly  body,  so  dear, 
the  remains  of  those  we  love  and  can  never  cease  to  love,  a 
holy  ground?  On  such  a  day,  therefore,  on  which  we  dedi- 
cate such  a  field  for  such  a  seed,  the  country  becomes  in  a 
higher  sense  our  country.  This  place  is  a  connecting  link 
which  binds  man  most  effectually  not  only  to  the  world  to 
come,  but  to  this  world  also,  to  his  fellow-man. 

Our  fathers  and  mothers  had  a  peculiar  way  of  naming 
such  a  place;  they  called  it  "the  good  place."     To-day,  as 


—  124  — 

long  as  this  place  is  virgin  and  empty  of  graves,  has  not  yet 
seen  and  witnessed  the  sadness  and  unspeakable  sorrow 
which  comes  over  us  when  we  are  called  upon  to  take  leave 
of  a  loving  and  beloved  soul,  and  intrust  its  body  to  the  cold, 
dark  pit ;  to-day,  as  long  as  this  ground  has  not  yet  been 
watered  with  the  bitter  tears  of  fathers  and  mothers,  who 
weep  for  their  seemingly  lost  children,  nor  witness  the  still 
bitterer  sadness  of  helpless  children,  who  cry  for  their  father 
and  mother,  the  protectors  of  their  infancy  and  childhood, 
has  not  yet  seen  the  grief  of  brothers  and  sisters  and  friends 
and  relations,  as  it  once  surely  will — to-day  we  may  be  in- 
clined to  call  it  a  good  place.  But  our  fathers  always  called 
it  "  the  good  place,"  and  they  were  right. 

In  the  sight  of  Judaism  the  burying-ground  is  not  the  house 
of  death,  but  the  D"nn  )V2  the  house  of  life,  of  eternal  life ;  it 
is  not  only  the  DTOpn  m,  the  city  of  graves,  but  the  dSv  IV3, 
the  gates  which  open  into  eternity.  Judaism  shows  that  our 
Redeemer,  the  Everlasting  and  Eternal,  liveth,  liveth  forever 
to  redeem  us  from  the  dark  shadows  which  death  seems  to 
spread  over  the  soul  of  man  (Job  xix.  25).  It  teaches  (Ps. 
xvi.  10)  iwS  ^QJ  :wn  kS  that  He  will  not  let  our  soul  go 
down  into  the  pit.  It  brings  conviction  to  the  heart  of  man 
that  the  divine  within  him  can  never  die.  Thus  the  burying- 
ground  could  be  to  the  Jew  nothing  else  but  "  a  good  place  " 
and  "  the  house  of  life."  As  soon  as  we  rise  to  the  heights  of 
this  conviction  the  thought  of  death  is  no  longer  full  of  sor- 
row, but  full  of  anticipated  joy,  no  longer  depressing,  but 
elevating.  Our  faith  in  the  salvation  which  is  sure  to  come 
from  the  eternal,  infinite  goodness  and  mercy  makes  us  en- 
dure the  earth,  even  when  she  becomes  a  valley  of  weeping 
and  sorrow,  makes  us  endure  the  separation  from  those  who 
are  near  and  dear  to  our  heart,  because  we  know  they  can 
not  be  lost  to  us  forever.  Only  where  the  faith  in  immortal- 
ity has  not  taken  root  in  the  heart,  will  the  sorrow  for  the  de- 
ceased grow  into  despair. 

Therefore,  let  us  calmly  overlook  these  grounds.  Peering 
into  the  future  we  behold  grave  rising  by  grave  and  monu- 
ment by  monument,  all  showing  and  speaking  of  the  love  of 


— 125  — 

those  who  were  left  behind.     We  behold  children  stealing 
away  from  the  noisy  bustle  of  life  and  wending  their  way 
hitherward  to  weep  themselves  into  peace  at  the  graves  of 
father  and  mother.     We  hear  the  sighs  and  groans  of  the  be- 
reaved widow  and  widower,  sad  and  lonely,  sitting  by  the 
hill  which  holds  the  ashes  of  those  who  were  nearest  to  their 
heart ;  how  they  whisper  to  the  breezes  the  beloved  name 
which  once  answered  to  so  much  love  and  affection  !     We 
distinguish  the  sorrow-stricken  features  of  fathers  and  moth- 
ers, who  had  to  give  up  the  idols  of  their  soul,  all  their  hope 
and  expectation  of  the  future,  and  lay  them  so  low.     We  see 
them  all  coming  hither  and  looking  up  to  the  stones  which 
mark  the  sacred  spots,  and  they  are  consoled  and  strength- 
ened, for  each  stone  is  but  a  finger-post,  pointing  upward, 
where  they  have  to  seek  for  their  departed  ones.     They  are 
comforted  and  strengthened  by  reading  the  words  which  are 
never  missed  on  the  grave-stone  of  a  Jewish  burying-ground  : 
Dvnn  nma  mm  iriftEO  ;  their  souls  are  bound  up  in  the  bonds  of 
everlasting  life,  for  which,  we,  too,  have  to  prepare  ourselves. 
This  ground,  therefore,  is  not  only  the  connecting  link  which 
binds  us  to  our  country,  this  world  and  the  world  to  come ; 
it  is  also  a  sacred  temple,  in  which  voiceless  sermons  will  be 
preached,  more  eloquent  and  sublime  than  human  tongue 
can  utter.     The  burden  of  these  sermons  is  :     Be  ever  ready 
and  prepared  for  the  time  when  thy  soul  shall  be  called  away 
to  give  account  for  thy  doings,  while  thy  body  will  be  laid 
into  the  ground,  to  return  to  the  dust  from  which  it  was 
taken. 

And  thus,  in  the  name  of  God,  the  Eternal  One,  be  thou 
dedicated  as  the  good  place,  the  house  of  everlasting  life,  the 
gates  of  salvation  !  Be  thou  the  field  in  which  the  seed  that 
decays  is  sown,  that  the  immortal  fruit  may  rise  heaven- 
ward. Be  thou  a  place  of  comfort  and  consolation  to  all  those 
who  will  once  lay  away  within  thy  bowels  the  most  precious 
they  had  on  earth.  Be  thou  a  temple  to  all  of  us,  that  the 
tombstones  which  shall  rise  within  thy  precincts  may  be  but 
so  many  fingers  pointing  upward,  heavenward,  to  the  Eter- 
nal, our  Father  and  Redeemer.     Amen. 


ROSH  HASHANAH. 


BY  ISAAC  M.  WISE, 

(0/  Cincinnati,  O.) 


"  -OqS  im  r»WI  KS  "  Go  out  and  stand  upon  the  mountain 
before  God."  These  are  the  divine  words  addressed  to  the 
Prophet  Elijah,  when  he  abode  in  the  cave  of  Mount  Horeb 
in  a  state  of  despair  over  Israel  and  his  cause.  He  had  seen 
the  fire  come  down  from  heaven  upon  Mount  Carmel  to  demon- 
strate to  all  the  worshipers  of  Baal  that  the  One  and  Eter- 
nal God  is  the  Lord  and  King  and  Rock  of  Israel.  He  had 
heard  the  congregated  myriads  of  Israel  exclaim  in  accents 
of  liquid  fire :  D\lb«n  Kin  «,  "  God  is  the  Lord."  But  the 
wicked  Queen  of  Israel,  hearing  of  the  discomfiture  of  the 
priests  and  prophets  of  Baal,  and  the  havoc  made  of  them, 
sent  forth  her  messengers  to  slay  Elijah.  He  fled  for  his  life 
to  the  wilderness,  and  there  in  that  cave  cried  painfully : 
\J1  TiKJp  JOp,  "I  have  been  very  zealous  for  God,  the  Lord  of 
hosts ;  for  the  children  of  Israel  have  forsaken  thy  covenant, 
have  thrown  down  thy  altars,  have  slain  thy  prophets  with 
the  sword ;  I  am  left  alone  by  myself,  and  they  seek  to  take 
my  life."  Poor  man  !  poor  enthusiast !  He  was  neither  the 
first  nor  the  last  victim  of  mighty  enthusiasm.  But  then 
God  commanded  him  to  go  out  of  his  dismal  cave,  to  stand 
upon  the  mountain  before  God. 

Brethren,  this  is  Rosh  Hashanah,  Israel's  New  Year.  God 
bless  you  all,  you  and  all  who  are  near  and  dear  to  your 
hearts,  this  day  and  every  day  of  your  lives,  all  of  which  may 
be  sweet  and  happy.  May  all  of  you  feel  the  presence  of 
your  God  in  his  holy  temple,  to  fill  your  hearts  with  golden 
hopes  and  heavenly  joys,  to  forget  the  combats  and  sorrows 


—  128  — 

and  tears  of  life,  and  behold  the  pleasantness  of  God ;  so  the 
King  of  Glory  may  enter  in  you  and  with  you  into  the  por- 
tals of  the  new  year.  This  is  Israel's  New  Year,  brethren ; 
and  what  a  mountain  is  in  space  that  is  the  New  Year  in 
time.  It  is  an  elevation,  and  those  who  stand  on  its  summit 
may  survey  the  area  below.  New  Year  is  an  elevation  in 
time,  and  those  who  place  themselves  upon  it  may  look 
backward  and  forward,  to  the  right  and  to  the  left,  to  survey 
the  past  and  cast  a  glance  upon  the  future.  Therefore,  in 
the  divine  words  of  Scripture,  I  call  on  you :  "  Go  out  and 
stand  upon  the  mountain  before  God."  Come  out  of  the  dis- 
mal cave  of  self-delusion,  self-conceit  and  sinfulness;  out 
also  of  the  vulgar  habits  of  indulgence,  self-gratification  and 
self-forgetfulness ;  also  out  of  the  dismal  cave  of  grief  and 
affliction  and  fear  and  apprehension ;  and  stand  high  upon 
the  mountain  in  the  clear  and  transparent  atmosphere  of 
truth,  light,  godliness  and  holiness ;  and  stand  before  God, 
the  Eternal  and  Omniscient,  who  looks  into  the  recesses  of 
the  heart  and  beholds  the  very  motive  of  your  volitions ;  the 
All-just  and  Almighty,  who  gives  to  man  according  to  his 
ways  and  the  fruits  of  his  doings.  Come  out  and  stand  upon 
the  mountain  before  your  God ;  come  out  and  hear  the  mes- 
sage of  the  Most  High  to  his  servant  Elijah. 

Elijah  came  forth  from  the  cave,  stood  upon  the  mountain 
and  complained  bitterly :  "  I  have  been  very  zealous  for 
God,  the  Lord  of  hosts,  for  the  children  of  Israel  have  for- 
saken thy  covenant."  Stop  !  here  we  must  pause.  The  chil- 
dren of  Israel  have  forsaken  thy  covenant,  he  said ;  not  all 
of  them,  indeed,  but  many,  very  many,  of  them ;  not  those, 
perhaps,  to  whom  I  speak,  but  many  to  whom  I  speak  not, 
because  they  studiously  and  persistently  desert  every  moral 
influence,  and  kneel  spell-bound  before  Baal  and  Astarte,  the 
Baal  of  a  bewildered  imagination  and  the  Astarte  of  wicked 
and  debauching  propensities ;  not  those,  perhaps,  of  this  city, 
but  those  of  many  cities  and  localities,  who  listen  to  no  ad. 
monition,  the  name  of  God  is  never  on  their  lips,  they  never 
think  and  never  feel  a  sublime  thought  or  profound  sentiment ; 


—  129  — 

to  whom  indulgence,  gratification,  pleasure  wild  and  inebriat- 
ing, is  life's  sole  object ;  or  perhaps  these  and  those,  here  and 
there  and  anywhere,  as  none  but  the  eye  of  the  Omniscient 
penetrates  into  the  secret  dens  of  corruption,  to  know  exactly 
who  is  and  who  is  not  of  those  children  of  Israel  who  have 
forsaken  His  covenant.  One  thing,  however,  is  certain  also 
in  our  days — a  large  number  of  Israel's  sons,  and,  alas  !  also 
of  his  daughters,  between  the  confirmation  and  wedding 
days,  never  show  by  one  word  or  deed  of  theirs  that  they 
stand  within  God's  covenant  with  Israel.  In  the  most  dan- 
gerous time  of  man's  life,  when  youth  matures  to  manhood, 
the  passions  are  fresh  and  strong  and  the  understanding  in- 
sufficiently developed  to  govern  them,  those  young  people 
are  withdrawn  from  every  moral  influence  of  the  school  and 
synagogue,  science  and  art,  elevating  and  invigorating  liter- 
ature, the  society  of  men  and  women  of  culture,  moral  and 
intellectual  ambition,  or,  what  is  perhaps  an  equally  efficient 
educator,  work,  sufficient  work  to  engage  body  and  soul ;  yes, 
in  many  instances  they  are  withdrawn  from  the  moral  in- 
fluences of  the  virtuous  family,  the  softening  and  humaniz- 
ing affections  of  mother  and  sister,  to  live  together  in  clubs 
or  gilded  saloons,  with  magnates  of  frivolity  or  champions  of 
lewdness,  left  to  drift  unguarded,  unheeded,  unnoticed  upon 
the  wild  current  of  life,  to  swim  or  sink,  to  live  or  die.  Who 
can  close  his  eyes  to  the  fact  that  they  have  forsaken  His 
covenant,  many,  many,  of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Israel, 
and  kneel  spell-bound  before  Baal  and  Astarte?  Who  can 
doubt  it  that  a  grievous  sin  has  been  committed  on  the  ris- 
ing generation,  permitted  to  grow  up  without  a  God  and  the 
watchful  eye  of  religion?  Who  will  deny  the  necessity  of 
saving  our  own  sons  and  daughters  from  under  the  destruc- 
tion of  this  age  of  gross  materialism,  which  seeks  pleasure, 
gratification,  pomp,  ostentation,  tinsel  and  toys  more  than 
truth,  light,  happiness  and  true  marlhood ;  this  sensual,  scan- 
dal-loving and  excitement-seeking  generation,  that  has  no  aim 
beyond  crude  selfishness?  Therefore,  the  divine  words  ad- 
dressed to  the  Prophet  Elijah  are  also  directed  to  us,  and  now 
"Go  out  and  stand  on  the  mountain  before  God ;"  survey  the  lo- 


— ;i30 — 

cation,  take  in  the  whole  situation,  and  remember  that  you 
stand  before  your  God,  the  Lord  of  justice,  the  God  of  right- 
eousness. To  you,  young  men  in  Israel,  and  to  you  first, 
those  divine  words  are  addressed.  Have  mercy  with  your 
kin,  your  companions,  your  brothers.  You  who  are  not  sold 
into  the  perpetual  slavery  of  sensuality;  you  who  are  not 
damned  to  sit  with  the  cards,  the  cues  or  the  goblets  in  your 
hands  in  order  to  be  amused,  who  know  and  understand  that 
there  are  higher  duties,  higher  aims,  higher  pleasures,  espe- 
cially for  the  conscientious  son  of  Israel ;  have  mercy  with 
your  kin,  your  companions,  your  brothers  ;  rouse  them  from 
that  deadening  slumber ;  rouse  them  in  the  name  of  truth 
and  mercy ;  save  them  from  the  poisoning  looks  of  basilisks  ; 
rescue  them  out  of  the  iron  grip  of  the  forlorn  and  sinking 
victims  of  wickedness.  Come  out  and  stand  upon  the  moun- 
tain before  God.  Save  those  who  in  a  few  years  will  sorely 
repent,  and,  perhaps,  will  discover  it  to  be  too  late  to  amend, 
to  restore  the  wasted  time,  energy,  manhood,  intelligence  and 
human  happiness.  Hear  the  divine  injunction,  listen  to  the 
solemn  admonition,  save  your  kin,  your  companions,  your 
brothers. 

Standing  upon  the  mountain,  brethren,  let  us  look  around 
to  discover  why  this  is  so.  Why  is  it  that  while  on  the  one 
side  there  is  manifested  in  our  days  so  sublime  an  enthusi- 
asm for  the  cause  of  Israel,  there  is  on  the  other  hand  so 
deadening  an  indifference  to  alL  that  is  of  a  religious,  moral 
or  even  an  intellectual  character ;  so  that  the  same  people 
who  care  not  for  your  religious  belief  and  practice  care  for 
nothing  else  which  offers  not  either  gain  or  pleasure,  sensual 
gratification  or  amusement?  The  prophet  in  the  bitterness 
of  his  soul,  answers  this  momentous  question  even  before  it 
had  been  asked.  He  exclaimed  :  "  They  have  thrown  down 
thy  altars,"  not  the  one  on  Mount  Moriah,  but  many  other 
altars  have  they  thrown  down,  so  Elijah  complained. 

Here,  methinks,  the  fault  lies.  The  altars  of  ceremonial 
religion,  the  heritage  of  the  Middle  Ages,  have  been  thrown 
down  by  advancing  culture,  liberty,  intelligence,  wealth,  con- 
tact with  the  human  family,  the  revolution  of  opinions  which 


—  131  — 

upheaves  all  strata  of  society.     Mere  observances  and  per- 
formances, however  ancient  and  venerable,  would  no  longer 
satisfy  the  heart  of  man.     The  ancient  forms  were  broken 
asunder,  and  Judaism  on  this  continent  had  become  a  weak 
shadow  of  the  past,  an  exotic  plant  without  the  ability  to 
strike  roots  in  this   soil.     Honest  men,  men  of  inspiration 
and  enthusiasm,  raised  their  voices  as  did  Elijah  on  Mount 
Carmel :     "How  long  halt  ye  between  two  opinions  (hobble 
on  two  clefts)?     If  God  is  the  Lord, follow  him  ;  and  if  Baal, 
follow  him."     Let  us  reform,  i.  e.,  let  us  adopt  other  forms, 
better  forms,  modern  forms,  gesthetical  forms,  to  rescue  the 
spirit  of  eternal  truth ;  to  give  adequate  expression  to  the 
sublime  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  divine  religion,  which 
is  the  heritage  of  the  congregation  of  Jacob.     As  in  all  polit- 
ical revolutions,  the  transition  from  despotism  to  freedom  is 
understood  by  some,  and  misunderstood  by  many  as  a  signal 
to  violence,  robbery  and  general  lawlessness  ;  as  in  social 
philosophy,  the  idea  of  independence  is  grasped  and  valued 
by  many,  and  misconstrued  by  others  into  communism  and 
libertinism ;  so  the  idea  of  reform  in  Judaism  was  under- 
stood and  duly  appreciated  by  many  honest  and  enthusiastic 
men  and  women,  even,  those  who  built  up  all  these  glorious 
temples  of  divine  worship,  schools  of  religious  instruction, 
asylums  for  the  sick,  the  needy,  the  orphan  and  the  widow, 
associations  of  charity  and  societies  of  benevolence;  even 
those  who  love  and  support  all  those  institutions  with  their 
treasures  and  personal  attendance,  have  built  up  a  Union  of 
the  American  Israel  and  a  College  to  educate  expounders  of 
the  Law ;  even  those  who  have  deeply  implanted  Israel  in 
the  American  soil,  in  the  hearts  of  good  and  intelligent  peo- 
ple, in  the  esteem  and  respect  of  our  neighbors,  who  have  re- 
moved from  our  heads  the  prejudices  with  the  superstitions 
and   have  rejuvenated   with  life  and   energy  the  declining 
spirit  of  despairing  children.    But  it  was  misunderstood  and 
misconstrued  by  many  into  a  communism  with  the  lowest 
class  of  God-forsaken  worshipers  of  Mammon,  and  a  liber- 
tinism common  to  the  scum  of  society.     They  have  thrown 
down  thy  altars  and  adopted  the  culte  of  Mammon,  Venus 


—  132  — 

and  Bacchus.  They  have  thrown  down  thy  altars  and  re- 
turned to  a  loathsome  heathenism.  "  This  is  nothing,  that 
is  nothing,  all  is  nothing,"  is  their  crude  motto  ;  "  let  us  eat, 
drink  and  be  merry  >  for  to-morrow  we  die,"  is  their  moral 
doctrine;  knowledge  and  learning  are  good  for  professional 
men,  they  say ;  intelligence  and  enlightenment  are  necessary 
for  public  writers,  orators  or  comedians  ;  we  live,  we  take  life 
as  it  is,  we  are  practical  men.  "  And  the  superiority  of  man 
over  the  beast  is  naught,  for  it  is  all  vanity;  "  it  is  the  Dar- 
winian baboon  with  two  hands  and  no  hair. 

They  have  torn  down  thy  altars.     They  would  not  go  into 
the  old  synagogue,  and  do  not  show  their  faces  in  the  new 
temple,  which  is  too  civilized  a  place  for  those  used  to  dens 
and  hovels.     They  did  not  pray  in  Hebrew  and  do  not  pray 
in   English,  because  they  can  not  pray* unless  Providence 
smites  them  with  misery.     They  could  not  listen  to  the  old 
melodies  of  the  old-fashioned  precentor,  and  have  no  ear  for 
the  sacred  music  of  our  choirs ;  it  does  not  afford  them  the 
right  kind  of  excitement.    They  did  not  read  the  Bible  or  any 
other  religious  book,  and  do  not  read  any  book  now  unless, 
perhaps,  it  contains  a  sufficient  amount  of  scandal  or  crime. 
They  worship  not  on  Sabbath  and  propose  now  to  deceive  God 
and  man  also  on  Sunday.     There  is  no  God  in  their  hearts, 
therefore  none  in  their  houses  and  families,  none  in  their  chil- 
dren, none  to  sustain  a  moral  character.     They  boast  of  what 
they  do  not  and  believe  not,  although  they  would  not  care  for 
telling  what  they  do  and  believe.   Next  Yom  Kippur  you  will 
hear  again  how  many  have  taken  illicit  dinners  here  and 
there ;  but  they  would  not  tell  you  what  else  they  have  done 
on  that  occasion,  nor  will  they  tell  you  of  anything  good, 
generous,  noble,  humane  or  wise  they  may  have  done  instead. 
You  will  hear  of  those  who  do  their  daily  business  to-day 
and  do  it  on  Yom  Kippur;  but  nobody  will  tell  that  on  that 
account  they  are  better,  more  respectable,  honorable  or  more 
trustworthy  than  you  are. 

I  do  not  exaggerate,  you  know  I  do  not.  There  are  quite  a 
number  of  people  who  have  become  libertines  in  this  respect 
and  appear  to  believe  they  could  be  good,  moral  men,  who 


—  133  — 

deserve  honest  men's  respect  without  any  religion.  They 
also  appear  to  believe  they  could  raise  children  to  be  good  and 
happy  men  and  women  without  the  moral  influence  of  relig- 
ious instruction.  They  think  a  man  might  be  rich  and  fat 
and  do  a  lucrative  business  without  any  religion  ;  therefore, 
they  have  torn  down  thy  altars,  and  also,  alas  !  the  altars  of 
their  children,  the  altars  of  a  rising  generation.  The  fathers 
have  eaten  sour  grapes,  and  so  the  teeth  of  the  sons  are 
blunted.  The  fathers  imagine  they  could  do  without  it,  and 
so  the  sons  do  without  it.  One  wicked  man  leads  many 
astray ;  one  Satan  consumes  many  victims ;  one  debased 
ring-leader  leads  many  to  hell.  So  reform  was  abused,  so  the 
altars  were  torn  down  ;  so  good  morals,  intelligence  itself  was 
defied,  so  they  have  deserted  thy  covenant,  the  children  of 
Israel.  They  had  outgrown  the  forms  of  the  Middle  Ages 
and  had  not  grown  high  enough  to  understand  the  lofty 
principle  of  a  purely  spiritual  religion.  They  escaped  the 
fear  of  hell  without  learning  the  fear  of  the  Lord,  therefore, 
they  scorn  with  infidels  and  laugh  with  the  frivolous ;  but 
they  have  not  learned  to  think  and  reason  with  earnest  men. 
They  have  forgotten  everything  and  learned  nothing.  They 
have  thrown  off  the  burden  of  the  Sabbath,  the  yoke  of  di- 
vine worship,  the  restraints  of  the  law  without  submission 
to  the  dictates  of  reason,  the  imperative  decrees  of  ethics, 
the  demands  of  humanity,  self-control  and  self-perfection- 
ment. 

For  the  sake  of  my  brothers  and  my  friends,  let  me  speak 
peace,  I  beseech  you,  men  and  brethren  in  Israel ;  for  the  sake 
of  those  who  sink,  go  under,  and  drag  others  down  into  the 
whirlpool  of  self-destruction,  let  me  cry  out,  heal,  rebuild 
the  altar  of  God,  which  is  overthrown.  You,  the  better  men 
and  better  women  in  Israel,  who  stand  to-day  upon  the 
mountain  before  your  God  and  Father  ;  you  who  do  not  bend 
your  knees  before  Baal,  who  love  truth  and  righteousness, 
God  and  humanity,  you  must  do  something  to  reclaim  the 
fallen  and  the  falling.  You  must  make  up  your  mind  to 
give  honor  to  God  by  the  strict  observance  of  his  laws,  honor 
to  Israel  by  adherence  to  his  precepts,  and  honor  to  human 


—  134  — 

nature  by  going  before  others  with  good  examples  and  in- 
spiring deeds.  "  That  they  may  hear  and  may  see  and  deal 
presumptuously  no  more,"  you  must  set  the  example  by  a 
stricter  observance  of  the  Sabbath;  you  must  honor  your 
sacred  cause  by  attending  to  it  personally  in  all  public  meet- 
ings of  the  congregation,  in  divine  worship  or  any  other 
occasion ;  you  must  be  strict  at  your  homes  as  well  as  in 
public  that  the  words  of  God  be  made  known  to  the  young 
and  the  old  by  all  means  at  your  command.  To  be  brief, 
you  men  and  women  in  Israel  must  be  Israelites  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  as  you  can  be  Israelites  no  longer  of  any 
previous  date,  and  set  the  example  to  others  that  there  is  a 
God  in  Israel  who  is  our  Judge,  our  Law-giver,  our  King  and 
our  Savior  forever. 

"  And  thy  prophets  have  they  slain  with  the  sword,"  Eli- 
jah complains  furthermore,  as  if  he  intended  to  say  all  hopes 
of  reformation  and  restoration  appear  to  be  lost ;  they  have 
deserted  the  covenant,  have  destroyed  the  altars,  the  doctrine 
and  the  deed  are  perverted,  and  the  only  men  who  could 
bring  about  a  change  for  the  better,  the  prophets,  have  been 
slain  with  the  sword.  Might  we  not  utter  the  same  cry  of 
despair?  N"33  TiV  p«,  "We  have  no  more  prophets?"  but 
that  is  not  yet  the  worst,  that  Psalmist  continues,  jnv  UrttK  pKl 
no  iy,  "And  none  of  us  knows  to  what,  whereto  all  this 
will  lead."  The  prophets  are  gone  and  ignorance  has  in- 
creased. Those  who  are  appointed  to  replace  the  prophets 
are  "Your  prophets,"  who  reveal  unto  thee  messages  of 
falsehood  and  seduction.  Anybody  almost  appears  in  our 
days  to  be  deemed  competent  to  replace  Moses  and  the 
Prophets,  their  precepts  and  the  eternal  truths  of  history. 
Any  young  man  of  a  common  school  education  in  our  days, 
any  bankrupt  man  who  has  failed  in  his  ordinary  profession 
or  trade,  any  common  man  who  perchance  has  read  a  book 
and  was  lucky  enough  to  become  wealthy,  any  common 
howler  or  public  crier,  nay,  renegades,  apostates,  abject  im- 
postors, political  demagogues,  eccentric  croakers,  anybody 
almost  has  become  a  substitute  for  the  prophet,  to  tear  down 
and  uproot,  to  scoff  at  all  things  sacred  and  laugh  at  the  teach- 


— 135  — 

ings  of  reason,  to  begin  history  anew  and  close  our  eyes  to 
the  holiest  treasures  of  man  in  all  history  of  the  past ;  and  a 
blind  multitude,  pleasure-loving  and  amusement-seeking, 
worships  this  idol  or  that  fetich,  is  bribed  and  corrupted  by 
a  laugh  or  pleased  by  scandal.  May  we  not  exclaim,  "And 
Thy  prophets  have  they  slain  with  the  sword  ?" 

"  Your  prophets  "  who  tell  you  privately  you  need  keep  no 
Sabbath,  you  need  not  worship  your  God,  if  you  are  your- 
selves artists,  scientists,  philosophers,  free  thinkers  or  some- 
thing like  it ;  "  Your  prophets  "  who  are  always  ready  to 
please  you  in  your  houses  or  even  to  laugh  with  you  or  for 
you  over  things  sacred,  over  persons  of  earnest  conviction ; 
but  when  they  come  before  the  public  they  always  appear  in 
the  sacred  cloak  of  godliness  and  with  a  false  face  of  holiness ; 
these,  "  Your  prophets,"  are  the  dead  men  slain  by  the  levity 
and  hypocrisy  of  this  age  of  masquerades  and  burlesques. 
Do  not  accuse  them,  although  they  are  damnable,  as  long  as 
you  must  accuse  yourselves  of  the  cause  thereof.  If  you  do 
believe  in  God  and  truth,  why  do  you  run  after  priests  of 
atheism  and  darkness  ?  If  you  believe  in  moral  principles, 
why  do  you  prefer  printed  scandal  or  spoken  indecency  to 
the  products  of  reason  and  words  of  purity  ?  Why  do  you 
desert  genius  and  run  after  comedians  ?  If  you  believe  in 
Judaism,  and  think  the  Sabbath  must  remain  as  ordained  in 
the  Decalogue,  why  do  you  not  keep  it  ?  Why  do  you  not 
distinguish  the  clay  in  this  or  that  manner  to  demonstrate  to 
your  families  and  your  neighbors  that,  yielding  to  necessity, 
you  sell  out  principles  for  dollars  and  cents  ?  Let  me  stop 
here  or  else  I  might  go  too  far.  These  are  a  few  of  the  ques- 
tions which  I  ask,  not  of  you  assembled  in  this  temple, 
which  I  address  to  this  age  of  levity  and  hypocrisy,  this  gen- 
eration of  masquerades  and  burlesques.  We  might,  I  think, 
say  the  same  thing  to-day,  as  did  Elijah  on  Horeb,  who  ex- 
claimed :  "  They  have  forsaken  thy  covenant,  the  children 
of  Israel;  they  have  overthrown  thy  altars  and  slain  thy 
prophets  with  the  sword." 

And  yet,  however  just  that  prophet's  complaint  appears 
to  be,  it  did  not  appear  entirely  so  to  the   Almighty.     God 


— ,136  — 

admonished  that  zealous  man  to  know  and  understand  that 
he  was  not  in  fire,  storm  or  earthquake,  that  he  was  re- 
vealed in  soft  and  benign  whispers.  God  admonished  him 
that  the  world  will  not  die  out  when  Elijah  dies,  and  charged 
him  to  anoint  another  king  and  prophet.  God's  promises 
must  be  fulfilled,  however  wicked  this  or  that  generation  may 
be.  God's  word  is  eternal,  but  generations  come  and  go. 
The  Midrash  adds  to  this  :  "  Whoever  depreciates  Israel,  let 
him  beware  lest  he  be  depreciated  himself.  Isaiah  said, 
'  And  I  dwell  among  a  nation  of  impure  lips ; '  and  he  was 
told  with  a  burning  coal  to  purify  his  lips.  Moses  said, 
'  Hear,  ye  rebellious  ones,'  and  he  was  told,  '  Thou  shalt 
not  bring  this  congregation  into  the  land  of  promise.'  Elijah 
said.  '  The  children  of  Israel  have  forgotten  thy  covenant,' 
and  he  was  answered, '  Go  and  anoint  Elisha  ben  Shaphat  a 
prophet  in  thy  place.'  " 

Well  do  we  understand  all  this,  and  history  repeats  it  very 
frequently.  Whatever  individuals,  whatever  a  class  of  indi- 
viduals may  do  or  say ;  of  Israel,  as  a  community  of  all 
ages  and  generations  the  Holy  One  has  said,  "  Verily,  they 
are  my  people,  children  who  lie  not."  Israel  always  was  and 
is  now  faithful  to  his  God.  The  minority  must  not  be  taken 
into  consideration  to  condemn  the  majority.  One  man,  one 
class  of  men,  yea,  one  generation,  may  fail  and  fall,  yet  uThe 
word-of  our  God  will  last  forever."  The  holy  religion  of  Is- 
rael is  beyond  human  power;  it  can  not  be  injured.  Well 
do  we  know  how  the  large  majority  of  this  congregation,  in 
fact  of  all  our  congregations,  are  faithful  to  God  and  Israel. 
But  he  is  my  God  whom  I  humbly  worship ;  they  are  all  my 
own  people,  my  own  flesh  and  blood,  whom  I  love;  this  law 
of  God  is  my  law,  before  which  I  meekly  bend  my  head. 
Therefore,  I  mourn,  I  weep  for  those  who  fail  and  fall  and 
disappear  in  the  current  of  popular  vices,  and  cry,  with  the 
bereaved  mourners,  "  Horrid  deep,  give  back  my  children  !" 
Therefore,  I  mourn  with  mourners  and  weep  with  the 
wretched ;  with  Mother  Rachel  in  Ramah  do  I  cry  :  "  Woe 
over  our  children  who  run  to  self-destruction  !  "  Therefore,  I 
call  from  the  recesses  of  my  heart,  to  you,  men  and  brethren, 


—  137  — 

fathers  and  mothers,  sons  and  daughters  in  Israel,  on  this 
holy  day  of  memorial ;  I  cry,  go  out,  come  forth  and  stand 
on  the  mountain  before  God.  Neglect  not  my  children,  my 
kin,  my  brothers,  the  dear  ones  of  my  soul.  You  must  do 
something  to  save,  to  rescue  them.  Resolve  resolutions, 
devise  means  in  your  minds,  on  the  mountain  before  the 
Lord.  And  with  such  resolves  let  us  open  the  portal  of  the 
future  and  enter  with  the  King  of  Glory,  who  will  bless,  pro- 
tect and  guide  you  all.  May  the  year  open  with  the  light  of 
truth,  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  and  happiness  to  all.  God 
grant  you  life,  peace  and  happiness.  God  grant  you  con- 
tentment, satisfaction  and  joy.  May  God  protect  your 
health,  increase  your  wealth,  enlarge  your  sphere  of  useful- 
ness, pervade  your  souls  with  heavenly  light.     Amen. 


THE  CROSSING  OF  THE  JORDAN. 


INAUGURAL  SERMON  BY  THE  REV.  DR.  E.  G.  HIRSCH, 

(Of  Chicago,  III.) 


In  this  hour,  for  me  so  momentous,  allow  me,  first  of  all, 
to  obey  the  promptings  of  my  heart  and  return  thanks  to 
you  for  your  kindness  and  confidence  so  signally  evinced  in 
calling  me  to  the  leadership  of  your  congregation,  so  deserv- 
edly renowned  among  the  sister  congregations  of  the  land. 
I  know  the  grent  responsibility  which  to-day  I  assume,  and 
I  am  painfully  conscious  of  my  inability  to  do  it  justice  in 
its  wide  scope.  But  every  petty  fear  is  silenced,  every  hesi- 
tating doubt  is  hushed,  if,  as  I  do,  I  bear  in  mind  what  high 
vocation  to-day  becomes  mine.  To  be  privileged  in  your 
midst  to  work  for  the  consummation  of  mankind's  highest 
ideals,  in  the  sense  and  according  to  the  tenets  of  progressive 
modern  Judaism,  is  a  calling  which  may  well  lend  new  wings 
to  my  soul,  and  brace  even  such  weak  powers  as  are  mine 
with  perseverance  and  courage,  never  to  tire  in  the  effort  to 
attain  the  noble  end,  which,  under  the  trusty  guidance  of  my 
honored  predecessors  you  have  recognized  as  the  goal  of 
your  congregational  aspirations.  Indeed,  to  be  the  banner- 
bearer  in  the  battle  for  Israel's  and  mankind's  lofty  interests, 
may  be  in  our  age,  so  strangely  moved  by  the  conflict  of 
divergent  tendencies,  a  difficult  task,  but  is  surely  one  that 
can  not  fail  to  bring  in  return  a  rich  reward. 

We  are  standing  at  the  threshold  of  a  new  year.  The 
weirdly  mingled  emotions  with  which  we  usually  greet  the 
birth  of  this  youngest  daughter  of  time  can  not  but  be  inten- 
sified to-night  by  the  reflection  that  not  only  as  individuals 
but  also  as  a  congregation,  are  we  now  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  uncertainties  of  the  future.     The  message  which 


—  140  — 

this  pivotal  hour  of  years  announces  comes  home  to  us  laden 
with  double  import,  and  more  urgently  than  perhaps  ever 
before  are  we  admonished  to  see  to  it  that  we  be  "  registered 
unto  life."  For  to  him  who  can  rise  above  his  own  individ- 
ual desires  and  apprehensions,  regrets  and  anticipations,  the 
quaint  Talmudical  legend  that  to-day  the  book  of  the  dead 
and  the  book  of  the  living  lie  open  before  the  divine  arbiter 
of  human  destinies  must  find  a  well  nigh  startling  applica- 
tion. He  must  observe  that  the  genius  of  the  times  is  busy 
recording  unto  death  views  and  conceptions  of  a  defunct  part, 
that  he  stands  ready  to  unclasp  the  volume  of  the  living, 
wherein  to  chronicle  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of  the  nascent 
future  !  The  advent  of  the  new  year  to  him  must  be  symbolic 
of  the  coming  of  the  new  era,  the  rosy  dawn  of  which  even 
now  colors  the  horizon ;  the  lengthening  shadows  of  the 
sinking  sun  are  emblems  to  him  of  the  parting  salute  of  an 
old  world  of  thought  and  sentiment,  which  is  taking  leave 
of  us ! 

Yes,  friends,  a  world  of  thought  and  sentiment,  in  whish 
our  fathers  moved  and  lived,  is  taking  leave  of  us,  the  chil- 
dren. There  is  no  sphere  of  human  activity,  no  field  of  hu- 
man energy,  but  displays  the  portents  of  the  revolution.  No 
age  before  ours  was  swayed  by  such  burning  desire  after 
knowledge,  was  ruled  b}^  such  ardent  longing  after  truth  as 
is  ours.  Carried  along  and  aloft  irresistibly  by  this  craving 
and  yearning,  we  have  explored  the  highest  and  the  lowest, 
have  traversed  the  immensities  of  celestial  space,  have  un- 
sealed the  mouth  of  mother  earth,  have  lifted  the  veil  from 
off  the  countenance  of  nature,  and  wrenched  from  her  many 
a  secret  of  her  work  and  working.  And  though  much  still 
remains  unknown,  and  many  a  question  is  wafted  back  upon 
the  wings  of  laughing  echo,  unanswered,  perhaps  unanswer- 
able ;  yet  the  inheritance  bequeathed  to  us  by  our  fathers  has 
proven  too  narrow  in  its  restrictions.  The  old  temple  of 
knowledge  has  lapsed  into  ruins,  even  though  the  new  one 
still  awaits  its  architect. 

And  the  reflex  of  this  movement  is  most  clearly  felt  in  the 
province  of  the  religious.     Conceptions  which  to  those  that 


— 141  — 

lived  before  us  were  among  the  dearest ;  ideas  which  in  all 
the  vicissitudes  of  life  were  to  them  staff  and  stay  ;  hopes 
which  in  genial  sunshine  or  chilling  rain  were  their  trusty 
companions ;  thoughts  which  braced  their  arms  for  the  con- 
test and  work  of  life,  all  these  no  longer  convey  to  us  mes- 
sages of  divine  peace  !  With  those  that  cherished  them,  they 
are  recorded  unto  death.  In  the  book  of  the  living  about  to 
be  unclosed,  we  shall  have  to  learn  to  read  new  inscriptions 
with  which  to  adorn  the  portals  of  our  heart's  sanctuary. 

That  Judaism,  too,  is  undergoing  a  similar  process,  no  one 
can  deny ;  no  one  can  wonder  at !  As  the  German  poet  so 
aptly  has  styled  it,  it  is  the  "  heart  of  mankind  !  "  It  was, 
at  ail  times,  the  first  to  respond  to  the  impulse  of  cotempo- 
raneous  mental  life  ;  and  to-day,  it  has  not  lost  this  charac- 
teristic function.  It,  too,  appears  before  us  to-day,  bearing 
in  one  hand  the  book  of  the  dead,  speaking  of  a  Temple 
which  our  fathers  pilgrimed  to,  then  majestic  in  its  architec- 
tural completeness,  now  in  ruins ;  in  the  other,  the  book  of 
life,  many  of  its  pages  still  to  be  unraveled,  but  the  signs  of 
which  Reform  Judaism  is  destined  to  read!  Thus,  turn 
whithersoever  we  may,  one  world  is  sinking,  another  arising  ! 
In  this,  the  first  hour  of  my  ministry  among  you,  no  question, 
therefore,  presents  itself  to  me  with  greater  urgency  than 
does  this  one:  "  How  are  we,  a  Reform  Congregation,  to 
build  up  this,  our  new  world?  " 

In  turning  to  Biblical  literature  for  guidance  to  find  answer 
to  this  question,  no  crisis,  therein  related,  impressed  itself  so 
vividly  upon  my  mind  in  its  similarity  to  our  own  position 
as  did  the  condition  of  the  tribes,  encamped  along  the  banks 
of  Jordan,  after  Moses'  death  under  the  command  of  Joshua, 
the  new  leader.  The  order  is  given  to  proceed.  The  river 
seems  a  formidable  obstacle  to  further  progress;  and  the 
conquest  of  the  land,  therefore,  almost  an  impossibility. 
But  nothing  daunted,  the  leader's  voice  calls  out  to  the  hesi- 
tating multitude  :  D3DipDD  WDn  Dfl&O  forward  from  the  spot  you 
are  encamped  at.  The  river's  rushing  waters  can  not  impede 
the  onward  march  of  the  Lord's  host.  Let  the  priests,  bear- 
ing the  ark  of  the  divine  covenant,  plunge  in  courageously, 


—  142  — 

and  a  path  will  open  in  the  very  midst  of  the  gushing  waves. 
Take,  however,  twelve  stones  from  out  of  the  river's  bed, 
whereon  rested  the  feet  of  the  priests,  and  on  yonder  shore 
erect  with  them  a  memorial  column  for  your  children  after 
you  !  Such,  in  brief,  the  marching  order  of  the  new  general. 
Its  details,  I  think,  are  also  well  adapted  to  show  us  the 
way,  and  teach  us  the  method,  how  we  should  proceed  to  per- 
form successfully  the  work  before  us  ! 

I. 

DDDlpDD  lyon  DHN1  Forward !  from  the  spot  where  we  are 
resting  !  This  the  first  essential.  Of  one  fact  to-day  we  are 
too  prone  to  lose  sight.  The  praises  of  the  Reform  move- 
ment have  been  sung  so  loudly ;  the  benefits  which  have  ac- 
crued from  it  to  Israel  have  been  so  frequently  urged,  that  we 
too  easily  forget  that,  after  all,  much  still  remains  to  be  done 
before  the  land  of  the  future  is  ours.  For,  if  we  have  suc- 
ceeded in  throwing  off  the  yoke  of  Egypt,  if  we  have  crossed 
the  Red  Sea,  if  even  in  the  desert  we  have  received  the  tab- 
lets of  the  law,  and  feasted  on  heavenly  manna, — we  have, 
at  best,  but  traversed  that  desert  while  the  Jordan  still  re- 
mains to  be  bridged,  the  land  of  our  promise  has  still  to  be 
conquered  in  many  a  hotly  contested  battle.  In  saying  this, 
no  one  can  accuse  me  of  ingratitude  toward  those  great 
leaders  that  during  the  past  fifty  years  and  more  have 
directed  the  Reform  movement ;  no  one  will  charge  me  with 
underrating  the  scope  or  the  effect  of  their  self-sacrificing 
efforts.  But  as  Moses  could  only  lead  his  people  to  the  brink 
of  the  frontier  river  ;  as  he  could  but  from  the  summit  of  the 
towering  mountain  behold  from  afar  the  shaded  hills  and 
laughing  plains  of  the  country,  for  which  he  had  so  ardently 
yearned  and  to  which  he  had  consecrated  every  sentiment  of 
his  pure  heart,  so  also  the  Moses  of  our  second  liberation 
could  but  show  us  paths  and  tracks  in  a  howling  desert,  bring 
us  to  the  very  border  of  the  land  of  our  future  habitation, 
but  they  could  not  marshal  the  triumphal  march  of  conquest. 
The  mission  of  Reform  is  twofold,  critical  and  constructive. 
The  remark  has  recently,  and  very  rightly,  been  made  that 


—  143 


hitherto  it  has  been  the  bane  of  liberalism  to  have  been  too 
exclusively  critical.    That  this  observation  holds  good  as  to- 
Jewish  liberalism,  no  one  acquainted  with  its  history  and 
development  can  gainsay.     If  to-day  we  hear  so  often  the 
complaint  and  the  accusation  that  the  Reform  movement 
has  been  fraught  with  disastrous  consequences  to  the  truly 
religious  spirit,  and  if  seemingly  the  charge  is  substantiated 
by  facts  patent  and  incontrovertible  ;-those  consequences 
adduced  and  those  facts  harped  upon  are,  in  very  reality  not 
so  much  the  outgrowth  of  the  Reform  movement  in  itself  as 
the  necessary  result  of  that  exclusive  criticism  which  un- 
avoidably has  hitherto  swayed  the  liberalism  of  the  day. 
Criticism,  certainly,  has  its  legitimate  function.     It  is  the 
pioneer  that  marches  in  the  van  of  slowly  advancing  civiliza- 
tion,  and   the  pioneer's  work,  too,   at  first   blush,   seems 
destructive.    His  sturdy  axe  cuts  down  the  mighty  oak  of  a 
thousand  years  ;  his  reckless  daring  blasts  the  rock  nature  s 
original  fastness.    He  bids  the  waters  take  new  direction 
and  disputes  the  dominion  of  their  native  soil  to  the  original 
owner  of  the  forest.     And  in  return  for  all  he  destroys,  he 
can  but  hastily  timber  a  rough  cabin  of  logs-a  temporary 
makeshift,  giving  neither  promise  nor  pledge  of  stability  01 
security.     And  yet  his  destructive  work  is  necessary      With- 
out him  the  constructive  civilization  of  those  that  follow  after 
him  is  impossible !  •  So  with  us  criticism  had  first  to  prepare 
the  way,  and  its  seeming  destructiveness  is  an  earnest  ot  the 
solidity  of  the  construction,  which  we  now  may,  nay  must 
rear     And  still  another  consideration  will  show  us  that  the 
much  deplored  criticism  of  Reform  was  necessary.    Criticism 
is  essentially  aggressive,  and  all  great  and  beneficen    move- 
ments of  human  progress  are  aggressive  in  their  first  stage. 
So  is  the  sun  when  he  first  bursts  open  the  portals  of  the 
East;    the  first  hour  oi  his   triumphant  course  along  the 
horizon  is  one  of  conflict,  waged  against  the  sullen  vassals  of 
darkness,   that   fain  would   hold   dominion    forever.     The 
peaks  of  the  mountain  summits,  indeed,  eagerly  accept  the 
morning's  kiss,  but  the  valleys  beneath  reject  for  a  time  the 
Conquering   hero's   loving  salute !     So   did   the  mission  of 


—  144  — 

Moses  begin  by  aggression,  and  his  whole  career,  his  constant 
attacks  upon  the  heathenish  propensities  of  his  cotempo- 
raries  are  but  typical  of  the  aggressive,  critical  spirit  that 
animated  the  leaders  of  the  Reform  movement.  They,  too, 
found  their  people  not  only  politically,  but  also  spiritually 
enslaved.  The  God  of  the  Fathers,  Israel  knew  no  longer ; 
intolerable  oppression  had  crushed  out  every  recollection 
and  consciousness  of  Israel's  priestly  mission.  The  present, 
so  dreary,  held  out  no  promise  for  the  future ;  and  the  past 
with  its  ruined  temple,  its  overthrown  Davidian  State,  its 
sacerdotal  and  sacrificial  ritual,  seemed  the  Paradise  lost — 
miraculously  to  be  regained.  And  more  than  all  this ! 
While,  like  Moses  of  old,  the  hearts  of  many  burned  with 
indignation  because  the  lash  of  the  task  master  cut  deep  and 
dire  furrows  into  the  back  of  the  poor  enthralled,  while  many 
dared  resist  the  emissaries  of  the  cruel  Pharaohs,  alas  !  many 
and  many  again,  swayed  by  ambition  and  the  desire  for 
political  preferment,  joined  the  ranks  of  Israel's  tormenters, 
and  had  but  scoffing  words  for  those  that  expostulated  with 
them.  Under  such  circumstances,  from  the  midst  of  the 
burning  bush  of  their  love  for  their  people,  the  Moses  of  our 
times  received  the  divine  appointment  to  go  and  reclaim  the 
enslaved.  And  the  fetters  were  rent  asunder,  the  people 
liberated,  led  out  of  the  house  of  bondage,  the  land  of  their 
fathers,  the  mountain  of  the  Lord  the  goal  of  their  journey. 
But  the  generation  that  left  Egypt  could  not  encounter 
Canaan.  In  the  stony  waste  of  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  the 
people  had  to  undergo  a  purifying  process.  So  also  in  our 
modern  exodus  from  media3val  Egypt.  The  generation  that 
bore  the  yoke  of  Pharaoh  could  not  conquer  the  future.  The 
flesh-pots  of  Egypt  and  the  golden  calves  had,  as  yet,  too 
many  charms  for  them.  During  this  period  of  conflict  with 
these  constant  hankerings  after  the  past,  Reform  had,  of 
necessity,  to  be  aggressive,  and  consequently  wield  the  sword 
of  criticism.  The  claim  to  eternal  authority  on  the  part  of 
Talmudical  Judaism,  the  legitimacy  of  tradition  had  to  be 
investigated.  The  rock  of  the  past  had  to  be  struck,  and  lo  ! 
we  found  the  limpid  waters  wherewith  to  quench  our  thirst. 


145  — 


Like  the  geologist,  we  succeeded  in  separating  stratum  from 
stratum,  and  assigning  to  each  period  its  peculiar  forma- 
tions, we  discovered  traces  of  gradual  growth  and  unfolding 
everywhere,  and  thus  vindicated  our  right  to  discard  with- 
ered" leaves  for  green  buds  just  springing  into  life.     The  con- 
flict, however,  is  now  decided  !     Criticism  has  performed  its 
function :  it  becomes  our  duty  to  leave  the  desert,  for  S3H 
D^y7  pL,n  Drr?  pa  ^2im  -in     Those  that  forever  would  stay 
in  that  arid  wilderness  can  not  expect  to  be  participants  of 
the  future.     We  must  now  begin  the  work  of  construction. 
The  sword  and  the  book,  so  relates  an  ancient  Midrash,  were 
given  together,  and  in  Reform  Judaism  criticism  and  con- 
struction should  henceforth  be  firmly  joined.     Thus  then, 
we,  too,  are  ordered  D3Wpo»  won  DHW  :     Up  !  forward  from 
the  spot  of  your  encampment !     Yes,  friends,  perhaps  louder 
than  ever  before  does  to-day    the  genius  of  the  time  call 
upon  us  to  march  forward.     Who  is  there  among  us  that 
does  not  know,  that  life  to-day  with  its  many  problems,  its 
many  doubts,  its  many  claims,  is  the  river  vnnJ  b  hv  ifo  Ml 
to  overflowing,  that  rushes  and  gushes  with  sweeping  current 
between  us  and  the  land  of  the  future?     Yes,  life  to-day  more 
urgently  and  more  piteously,  than  ever  it  did  since  man 
began  to  breathe  and  move  under  yon  arched  sky,  clamors 
for  an  answer  to  its  questioning.     The  solutions  offered  by 
the  civilizations  before  our  own,  have  lost  their  value  and 
potency.     If  in  antiquity  the  mere  accident  of  birth— a  sign 
of  divine  favor  or  displeasure— stifled  every  doubt,  and  com- 
pelled man  to  accept  as  inexorable  the  decrees  of  fate,  under 
which  he  could  groan,  but  which  he  dared  not  question,  to- 
day the  spot  at  which  our  cradle  stood,  and  the  circum- 
stances by  which  it  was  surrounded  decide  naught,  and  are 
often  but  a  fresh  source  of  burning  dissatisfaction  and  gall- 
ing unrest.     If  in  the  Middle  Ages  the  Church,  while  retain- 
ing the  theory  of  divine  grace  and  preferment  manifested  at 
birth,  held  out  to  the  weak  and  lowly,  the  troubled  and  per- 
plexed, the  hope  of  a  future  compensation  and  retribution  ; 
to-clay,  the  hidden  regions  of  beyond  the  grave  are  quick 
with    no    incentive  to  endurance  and  patience.      In    one 


—  146  — 

word,  the  world  has  lost  the  compass  whereby  to  steer  life's 
fragile  bark.  "Is  life  worth  living?"  this  the  harrassing 
problem  to  which  no  response  will  come;  and  the  times  are 
big  with  volcanic  energy;  social  upheavals  multiply  in 
number,  increase  in  horror,  and  the  whole  fabric  of  our 
boasted  culture  seems  out  of  joint.  And  for  this  very 
reason,  it  becomes  the  sacred  duty  to-day  of  modern  Judaism, 
to  construct  on  the  eternal  principles  of  J  mix  ism  an  all  embrac- 
ing philosophy  of  life,  to  study  man  in  his  ethical  relations, 
to  listen  to  his  doubts,  and  to  confirm  him  in  his  hopes,  to 
brace  him  for  the  struggle  of  life,  and  show  him  the  palm  of 
victory  to  be  striven  after.  Mere  negative  criticism  can  not 
do  this.  Therefore,  like  Joshua's  host  of  yore,  WDn  for- 
ward! onward! 

II. 

But,  friends,  let  us  recollect  here,  at  the  very  outset,  one 
essential  point.  The  very  river  of  life  which  it  is  ours  to 
ford,  will  open  its  sweeping  current  only  to  the  priests  bear- 
ing the  "  ark  of  the  covenant."  If  we  do  not  wish  to  be 
swept  away  by  its  swift  waters,  we,  too,  have  to  take  with  us 
that  ark,  emblem  of  the  covenant,  which  obtains  between 
man  and  his  Maker.  In  other  words,  the  adamantine  rock, 
upon  which  we  are  to  rear  the  temple  of  the  future,  must 
to-day,  as  ever  in  Judaism,  be  and  remain  the  living  con- 
sciousness of  the  sublime  relationship  that  links  us  to  God  ! 
Perhaps  the  sciences  refuse  to  adduce  proof  of  this  cove- 
nun  t.  The  telescope  and  the  spectroscope  are  both  silent  on 
that  score;  and  the  astronomer,  when  computing  the  orbits 
of  the  stars,  will  not  take  account  of  this  factor.  And  even 
so  the  geologist,  tracing  the  developments  of  the  earth's  in- 
crustation, successively  through  all  its  periods,  will  not  point 
out  in  the  fossil  remains  of  the  buried  epochs  or  in  the  for- 
mations of  the  present  day  evidences  thereof.  Nor  can  we 
hope,  in  the  laboratory  of  either]  chemist  or  physiologist,  to 
succeed  better.  But  what  of  that?  The  covenant  which  we 
are  to  cherish  is  not  an  outward  one.  "  Not  in  the  heavens 
and  not  in  the  sea,  but  in  thy  mouth  and  in  thy  heart  to  do 


—  147  — 

it."  The  raging  ocean  of  fire,  the  whirling  tempest  failed  to 
bring  home  to  the  prophet  of  old  the  knowledge  of  his  God  ; 
the  soft  voice  of  his  own  heart  revealed  to  him  what  he  could 
read  neither  in  the  stars  above  him  nor  in  the  rocks  around 
him !  Philosophy  has,  indeed,  demolished  the  so-called 
evidences  of  God's  existence  deduced  all  from  the  outward 
work  and  working  of  Nature.  But  the  lessons  which  the 
life  of  man  and  mankind  teaches — these  no  philosophy  can 
controvert  or  render  nugatory.  What  if  without  phosphorus 
there  be  no  thought— the  mind  which  works  through  the 
instrumentality  of  the  brain  will  ever  remain  more  than  a 
mere  secretion  oozing  from  brain  matter.  The  heart  will 
ever  be  more  than  a  pumping  apparatus,  the  tear  more  than 
a  chemical  salt— man  more  than  an  automatic  machine; 
and  the  man  of  science  who  would  deny  his  own  manhood. 
— is  at  best  a  giant  Samson,  blinded  by  his  prejudices,  laying 
hold  of  the  pillars  of  the  sanctuary  and  in  their  fall  working 
his  own  destruction.  What  makes  man  a  man  is  the  eternal 
prompting  which  he  alone  of  all  creatures  feels,  down  in  his 
heart,  to  rise  above  his  finite  surroundings  and  soar  up  to 
ideal  heights,  to  enter  into  close  union  with  the  infinite. 
How  far  soever  we  may  follow  the  footprints  of  man's  work 
on  earth,  we  find  this  power  operative  within  him.  True, 
often,  very  often,  the  flight  of  his  aspirations  took  a  wrong 
direction,  but  as  the  erratic  course  of  erring  stars  confirms 
even  in  its  irregularity  the  laws  according  to  which  the 
others  are  held  in  their  even  paths,  so  still  in  its  errors  the 
human  heart  reveals  the  eternal  law  of  its  constitution.  Nor 
can  the  infinite  remain  for  man  an  abstract  idea ;  he  ever 
feels  it  as  a  living  reality.  Conscience  and  virtue  are  its 
ministering  angels  within  him.  And  virtue  is  not  a  eupho- 
nious sound  for  selfishness  and  policy.  The  little  child's  eye, 
whose  mind  is  certainly  free  from  all  guile  of  utilitarian 
calculation  of  its  own  interests,  involuntarily  sparkles  with 
holy  fire  of  enthusiasm  when  it  beholds  the  noble  faces  and 
figures  of  those  who  devoted  their  lives  to  what  is  good  and 
noble;  and  even  the  criminal,  steeped  in  the  most  abject 
mire  of  moral  depravity,  can  not  stifle  the  plaintive  voice 


—  148  — 

within  him,  "  Man,  where  art  thou?  "  and  escape  the  chid- 
ing of  his  conscience,  and  must  quake  under  its  lashes,  he, 
for  whom  neither  dungeon  nor  gallows  had  any  terrors. 
That  virtue  and  conscience  partake  of  the  characteristic 
trait  of  all  that  is  human,  that  from  small  germs,  with 
changing  standard,  they,  too,  have  shared  in  a  progressive 
process  of  evolution — this  fact  does  not  disprove  their  reality 
and  universality.  For  they  are  not  merely  individual,  they 
are  cosmic  fore  s. 

History  is  the  Sinai  from  which,  if  shrouded  in  clouds 
and  trembling  with  fiery  commotion,  above  the  peal  of  its 
thunders  and  by  the  glare  of  its  Hashing  lightning,  we  hear 
the  jubilant  declaration,  "  I  am  the  Lord,  thy  God!  "  On 
the  tablets  of  the  Law,  there  promulgated,  we  may  read,  that 
if  virtue  be  a  policy  it  is  a  divine  policy;  that  nations  as  well 
as  individuals  only  then  flourish  when  in  accord  with  vir- 
tue's dictates ;  that  they  perish,  if  they  dare  oppose  its  be- 
hests, which,  notwithstanding  human  opposition,  will  be 
carried  out  to  a  successful  issue  !  Yes,  Virtue,  or  better,  God, 
with  conscious  purpose  rules  the  loorld! 

And  this  idea,  this  covenant  must  also  be  the  corner-stone 
of  the  system  we  have  to  construct.  Otherwise  it  Dnjn  pa 
JTpriD  Kim  it  will  be  a  child's  card  house,  which  can  not 
endure  !  Otherwise  the  fate  that  awaits  us  will  be  similar  to 
that  of  those  daring  Titans  that  raised  a  tower  to  storm  the 
heavens,  but  to  find  their  undertaking  end  in  dire  confusion. 

For  the  thoughtful  history  points  out  one  lesson:  Athe- 
ism has  ever  been  the  grave-digger,  never  the  architect,  of 
civilization.  Look  at  Rome,  in  the  first  century  of  our  era  ; 
contrast  her  with  Jerusalem  !  The  seven-hilled  city,  then  at 
the  zenith  of  her  power ;  Zion  and  Moriah,  but  faintly  aglow 
with  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  of  their  dec  line.  Doth  had 
opened  theii  gates  to  Greek  thought  and  culture.  But, 
though  the  mistress  of  the  world  gladly  patterned  her  own 
songs  after  the  strains  that  once  filled  with  their  sweet  music 
the  Olympian  arena;  though  she  sat  an  eager  disciple  at  the 
feet  of  masters  full  with  the  lore  of  the  Stoa  and  the  Acad- 
emy:  could  she  touch  with  new  life  the  genius  of  Hellas? 


— 149  — 

She  became  its  tomb,  because  atheistic,  frivolous,  she  had  lost 
all  comprehension  of,  all  love  for  the  ideal.  Not  so  on  Pales- 
tine's sacred  soil !  There  Greek  culture  was  quickened  into 
new  life ;  the  God-idea  of  Israel  endowed  it  with  potencies 
hardly  conceivable  ;  and  Christianity  went  forth  from  thence, 
not  merely  to  bury  a  world,  but  also  to  construct  one.  And 
again,  when  fourteen  hundred  years  later,  Greece  stepped 
out  once  more  from  the  ruins  of  Byzantium,  where  long  she 
had  been  secluded,  and  in  Italy  and  Germany  found  willing 
adepts  :  when  the  "  eternal  city  "  at  the  bidding  of  a  Medici 
on  the  papal  throne,  saw  rise  in  stately  proportions  St. 
Peter's  majestic  dome ;  while,  in  yon  little  Saxon  town,  a 
much  less  stately  cathedral  began  to  resound  with  the  burn- 
ing eloquence  of  an  iconoclast,  a  monk  but  recently  emerged 
from  the  cloister's  solitude ;  which  of  these  two,  Rome  or 
Wittenberg,  proved  the  Mecca  of  the  New  World,  then 
spreading?  The  papal  court,  frivolous  and  atheistic,  though 
fostering  the  new  arts  and  sciences,  could  but  erect  sad 
monuments  over  the  grave  of  a  civilization,  the  last  rem- 
nants of  which  it  was.  while  Protestantism,  the  Bible  as  the 
word  of  God  in  its  hands,  called  up  to  life,  energies  and 
tendencies,  the  beneficent  rebound  of  which  we  even  to-day 
yet  feel.  But  why  go  so  far?  Follow  me  to  the  dying  de- 
cades of  the  eighteenth  century  !  A  hurricane  is  sweeping 
over  both  hemispheres ;  America  and  France  are  in  the 
throes  of  a  new  era.  But  where  does  the  storm  bring  in  its 
fold  life,  where  death?  Beyond  the  ocean  they  deify  reason 
— but  she  can  with  bloody  hands  tear  down,  not  build  up ; 
here,  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic,  with  the  God  of  their 
fathers  a  living  presence  in  their  heart,  the  sturdy  champions 
of  the  Revolution,  not  only  tear  down,  they  build  up.  Let 
these  instances  suffice  !  Let  us,  too,  heed  their  warning : 
Forward !  that  is,  indeed,  the  order  of  the  day ;  but  only 
when  the  ark  of  the  covenant  leads  the  way.  But,  on  the 
other  hand,  let  us  not  forget  that  this  idea  of  the  covenant 
which  makes  us  kin  to  the  Infinite  must  ever  remain  a  living 
thought,  not  degenerate  into  a  dead  dogma.  If  Judaism 
protests  with  all  the  fervor  that  strength  and  truth  of  con- 


—  150  — 

viction  can  elicit  against  the  dogma  of  materialism,  it  does 
no  less  raise  its  voice  against  the  materialism  of  dogmas. 
Our  religion  never  was  dogmatic.  Liberty  of  conscience, 
untrammeled  by  any  restrictions  of  a  formulated  creed,  was 
the  treasure  which  all  ages  watched  over  with  never  nagging 
zeal.  Its  greatest  men  could  never  dare  reduce  to  authorita- 
tive articles  the  ever-living  principles  of  our  faith,  without 
encountering  a  jealous  and  always  successful  opposition ! 
While  the  synagogue,  here  and  there,  perhaps  pronounced 
tlic  ban  of  excommunication  against  men  bold  enough  to 
emancipate  themselves  from  the  mandates  of  practical  cus- 
tom and  ceremony,  it  very  rarely,  if  ever,  made  theoretical 
dissent  from  prevailing  opinions  the  basis  or  the  decree  of 
exclusion.  Sonic  arc  ready  to  see  in  this  a  symptom  of  in- 
herent weakness.  "What  is  Judaism?"'  so  they  exclaim, 
"no  one  knows  because  no  one  can  formulate  it."  They 
forget  that  Judaism  is  not  confession  but  conduct;  that  it  is  a 
life,  and  life  can  never  be  formulated ;  it  is  no  crystal  but  a 
constant  flow.  Indeed,  not  the  tongue  that  glibly  repeats 
articles  of  faith,  not  the  lips  that  are  ever  ready  to  pronounce 
the  name  of  the  deity,  are  the  tests  of  howT  deeply  we  are 
conscious  of  our  relationship  to  our  God  within  us,  around 
us,  above  us,  but  the  heart  aglow  with  love  of  all  that  is  true 
and  beautiful;  a  hand  ever  ready  to  do  what  is  good  and 
nol  >le.  This  characteristic  trait  of  Judaism  is  not  an  element 
of  weakness,  it  is  its  tower  of  strength.  It  alone  spares  it 
the  futile  and  frantic  efforts  under  the  necessity  of  which  all 
dogmatic  religions  are  smarting,  to  reconcile  with  new  stan- 
dards of  knowledge,  <>I<I  standards  of  belief.  It  alone  steers 
clear  of  the  cliffs  upon  which  dogmatic  religion  is  in  con- 
stant danger  of  foundering,  the  assumption  of  two  kinds  of 
truth — the  one  scientific,  the  other  religious.  No,  keeping  paoe 
with  tli<'  advance  of  mankind,  it  scaled  round  after  round  of 
the  Ladder-reaching  from  the  earth  up  to  God,  with  its  hopes, 
the  ascending  angels,  but  also  its  doubt,  the  descending 
angels,  its  steady  companions.  And  so  to-day,  whatever  the 
cosmogony  we  accept,  whatever  the  views  we  entertain  as  to 
the  character  and  composition  of  our  sacred  literature — if 


—  151  — 

our  theism  be  a  principle  of  action,  rather  than  dogmatic 
assertion,  these  opinions  do  not  conflict  with  our  Theology. 
In  the  land  of  the  future  the  manna  may  cease  falling  from 
above,  but  the  ark  of  the  covenant,  with  the  eternal  tablets 
of  the  Law,  the  ever  blooming  staff  of  life,  is  still  with  us,  be- 
cause within  us. 

III. 

And  finally  a  third  essential  is  suggested  by  our  text : 
"  Take  from  the  river  twelve  stones,  erect  with  them  a  memo- 
rial column,  so  that  when  thy  sons  ask  thee  about  their  sig- 
nificane,  thou  mayest  be  able  to  acquaint  them  therewith." 
In  constructing  our  new  system,  we  can  not  break  the  his- 
torical nexus  with  the  past.  Whatsoever  is  truly  human  is 
historical.  The  distinction  between  instinct  and  reason, 
beast  and  man,  manifests  itself  mainly  in  this,  that  instinct 
has  no  history,  while  reason  has.  In  our  day  the  claims  of 
what  is  historical  are  often  overlooked.  Idealism  to-day 
attempts  to  build  the  shrine  of  the  future  without  remem- 
bering that  the  future  can  only  be  a  continuation  of  the  past, 
through  a  living  present,  and  thus  in  vain  delusion  the  edifice 
rises  upon  the  quick-sand  of  individualism.  Where  the 
thread  of  history  is  rent  asunder,  the  bark  of  idealism  carries 
only  sails,  no  anchor.  The  physical  universe  is  held  in 
equipoise  b}7  the  conflict  of  two  forces,  the  centripetal  and 
the  centrifugal ;  so  the  moral  universe  loses  its  balance  when 
it  refuses  to  submit  to  the  operation  of  the  centrifugal,  the 
historical  force.  And  pause  one  moment,  and  reflect,  what 
history  is  that  with  which  we  are  to  retain  connection  !  We 
see  there  before  us  as  a  people,  swayed  by  one  idea,  and  often 
martyrs  to  that  idea  :  "  It  is  the  priest  people  of  the  world, 
banded  together  for  the  purpose  of  marching  in  the  van  of 
true  humanity."  And  this  claim  to  this  privileged  position 
is  well  substantiated.  It  is  easy  to  show  that  in  Israel  the 
issues  of  humanity  were  first  recognized  and  first  solved  ; 
and  that  the  solutions  victoriously  stood  the  fiery  test  of 
actual  life  !  Nor  can  we  afford  to -da}7  to  give  up  our  priestly 
mission.     The  levitical  purity  laws  and  dietary  regulations, 


—  152  — 

indeed,  we  may  discard ;  but  the  priestly  robe  woven  with 
1  litter  tears  and  dyed  in  the  life-blood  of  thousands  of  mar- 
tyrs—this we  can  not  resign,  for  our  task  is  not  done,  the 
victory  of  true  humanit}'  not  yet  won.     Thus,  we,  too,  have 
to  take  the  stones  and  erect  them  into  a  memorial  column  ! 
We' will  preserve 'our  historical  organization,  observe  our  his- 
torical holidays,  chant  in  our  services  the  old  songs  of  the 
Jordan  and  Euphrates,  and  address  our  petitions  before  the 
throne  of  grace  to  a  certain  extent,  at  least,  even  in  the 
language  which  our  fathers  spoke.     But  I  can  not  forget  that 
the  memorial  stones  are  not  an  end  unto  themselves.     They 
are  but  means  to  acquaint  the  young  with  the  great  lessons 
and  truths  of  our  history,  imbue  them  with  the  spirit  of  our 
past,  instill  into  their  hearts  the  love  of  our  task  in  the  pres- 
ent.    Have  we  been  able  to  carry  out  this  intention  hereto- 
fore?    Who  would  say,  we  have?     Certainly,  I  am  the  last 
one  to  detract  one  tittle  from  the  historical  value  of  the  his- 
torical  Sabbath.       But  we  live   under  such  circumstances 
that  it  has,  indeed,  become  a  historical  reminscence,  not  a 
living  institution.    Certainly,  I  am  the  last  to  desire  a  schism 
in  Judaism.     But  I  can  not  shirk  the  duty  to  provide  for 
such  as  can  not  observe  the  historical   Sabbath  additional 
services  on  such  a  day,  as  it  is  possible  for  them  to  attend. 
I  deny  that  this   step  is   a   surrender  of  Jewish  principles. 
Nay,  furthermore,  I  insist  upon  the  introduction  of  these 
services  on  the  general  civil  day  of  rest  in  the  name  of  the 
priestly  mission  of  Israel,  which  is  sacred  to  us  all.     The 
great  prophet  of  the  captivity,  living  in  a  time  when,  like  in 
ours,  a  new  heaven  was  spreading,  and  new  earth  was  found- 
ing, held  out  to  his  contemporaries  the  goal :  too  insignificant 
it  is  for  12V  h  irvrriD^pJI  me  that  thou  shouldst  be  a  servant 
unto  me  3pJT  TUt?  JIN  D'piT?  for  the  mere  purpose  of  raising 
the  tribes  of  Jacob  and  bringing  back  the  guarded  of  Israel  : 
I  have  given  thee  as  a  light  for  the  nations   D"uS  *VUX  -|nrm 
Our  efforts  can   not  confine  themselves  to-day  to  our  own 
circle;  the  world,  thirsty  with  the  thirst  of  knowledge,  claims 
our  services.   Our  salvation  is  to  become  also  its  salvation.  In 


—  153  — 

the  words  of  my  honored  predecessor,  "Judaism  has  to  express 
its  views  on  all  the  vital  questions  of  the  day ;  and  the  forum 
for  this  is  not  the  Sabbath  trampled  upon,  but  the  civil  day 
of  rest ! " 

These  then  are  the  principles  which  shall  guide  me  in  the 
administration  of  my  office  in  your  midst.  A  great  work 
lies  before  us.  Like  Reuben  and  Gad,  our  congregation  is 
commissioned  and  pledged  to  march  the -advance  guard  of 
the  army  and  bear  the  brunt  of  the  battle.  Let  us  be  true  to 
this  trust !  Let  us  in  the  new  year  all  rally  with  old  enthu- 
siasm around  our  flag!  Then,  indeed,  our  names  will  be 
recorded  in  the  book  of  life  and  God's  blessing  be  with  us. 
Amen. 


RELIGION  OR  NO  RELIGION? 


YOM-KIIMMK   SERMON. 


BY  THE  REV.  DR.   LILIENTHAL, 

(0/  Cincinnati,  0.) 

Text.— *»5X  'rb  "SZ— "  Wllu  is  with  Jehovah,  come  to  me.— Ex.  xxxii.  26. 

In  my  sermon  on  the  second  day  of  Rosh  Hashonah  I  prom- 
ised to  discuss  on  this  morning  of  Yom  Kippur,  the  Sab- 
bath of  Sabbaths,  the  grave  and  momentous  question — 
Religion  or  no  Religion? 

Of  course,  when  on  New  YTear's  Day  or  on  Yom  Kippur 
we  look  around  us  and  see  the  House  of  God  filled  to  its 
utmost  capacity — when  every  seat  is  occupied,  and  the  aisles 
are  almost  thronged  with  eager  visitors — then  it  might  seem 
preposterous,  nay  ridiculous,  to  put  the  question — Religion 
or  no  Religion?  When  every  one  listens  to  the  summons, 
when  every  one  appears  before  the  Lord  to  do  homage  to  the 
God  of  Israel,  to  renew  his  allegiance  to  our  sacred  creed,  to 
proclaim  this  evening  with  us  :  *3JK  nay  "  I  am  a  Hebrew, 
and  fear  the  Lord  of  the  Universe,  and  hence  with  soul  and 
heart  I  confess  :  Hear,  0  Israel,  Jehovah  is  our  God,  Je- 
hovah is  One."  Then  who  should  seem  to  doubt  that  there 
is  still  alive  in  our  midst  a  sentiment  of  religion,  a  sentiment 
which  reminds  us  of  our  higher  duties  and  nobler  qualities? 

0,  I  gratefully  invoke  the  divine  blessing  on  you  all,  the 
ones  who  attend  the  divine  worship  regularly,  and  the  others 
who  come  to  the  House  of  God  but  once  or  twice  a  year. 
We  all  feel  to-day  that  we  are  brethren  and  sons  of 
one  holy  covenant;  present  or  absent  during  the  year, 
somewhere  and  somehow  there  lurks  in  us  the  thought  that 
we  all  bear  and  share  the  same  responsibilities,  and  have 
the  same  task  and  the  same  mission  to  fulfill ;  and,  like  the 


—  156  — 

people  answered  Joshua,  the  servant  and  successor  of  Moses, 
we  all  say  to  this  holy  day  of  grace,  love  and  mercy  :  "  All 
that  thou  coinmandest  us  we  will  do,  and  whithersoever  thou 
sendest  us  we  will  go." 

Be  blessed,  thrice  blessed,  therefore,  for  the  sentiments 
which  animate  and  prompt  you  to-day,  on  this  Sabbath  of 
Sabbaths,  on  this  day  of  holy  convocation. 

Let  us  be  frank,  sincere  and  true;  for  this  day  is  de- 
voted to  truth,  which  despises  all  deception;  it  is  consecrated 
to  rigid,  careful  examination.  Let  me  ask :  How  many 
in  this  vast  assembly  are  here  merely  by  force  of  habit  and 
custom,  or  out  of  reverence  for  their  elders,  whom  they  do 
not  wish  to  grieve  and  to  offend,  or  out  of  regard  for  public 
opinion,  which  they  do  not  like  to  challenge,  and  with  which 
they  do  not  wish  to  have  an  open  rupture?  and  how  many 
are  here  "from  clear  and  sincere  conviction,  from  a  rational 
understanding  that  the  day  and  its  summons  are  not  a  mere 
farce? 

And  again  hear  the  next  one.  "  What,  have  you  joined 
a  congregation?  Do  you  attend  that  thing  which  they  call 
divine  service?  Are  you  willing  to  contribute  your  mite 
toward  its  support?  Indeed,  I  had  a  better  opinion  of  you. 
I  did  not  think  you  were  so  fickle-minded.  Do  you  not 
know  that  all  this  is  a  mere  nursery  tale,  an  obsolete  allegory 
from  man's  and  mankind's  childhood ;  that  these  ceremonies 
are  petrified  mummies ;  that  only  such  people  who  do  not 
think  and  do  not  read  and  do  not  understand  the  spirit  of 
the  enlightened  nineteenth  century  will  cling  to  them ;  but 
you  and  I  who  are  advanced,  who  know  better  than  these  so- 
called  religious  people— we  should  join  them,  and  even  assist 
them  with  our  means,  instead  of  trying  our  utmost  to  break 
it  down  and  to  level  it  to  the  ground?"  And  what  do  we 
answer  to  this  charge?  We  shrug  our  shoulders,  laugh  in 
our  sleeves,  that  they  can  read  our  inmost  heart ;  and  before 
ourselves  we  feel  ashamed  that  we  have  yielded  to  the  per- 
suasion and  solicitations  of  others. 

But  these  points,  as  much  as  they  may  come  home  to  you, 
are  still  of  minor,  very  minor  importance.     The  real  pres- 


—  157  — 

sure  against  religion  comes  quite  from  other  outside  quarters. 
There   come   the  men  of  science,  master   minds,  giants  of 
knowledge,  and  take  the  Bible  and  prove'its  mistakes  and 
tear  it  to  pieces,  and  fling  its  torn  leaves  to  the  four  corners 
of  the  compass.     They  stand  there— a  Darwin,  a  Huxley,  a 
Hceckel,  a  Tyndal,  and  a  hundred  others— with  their  incon- 
testible,  irrefutable  proofs  of  science.     Instead  of  reading  the 
antiquated  books,  written  thousands  of  years  ago,  they  read 
the  book  of  nature,  decipher  its  alphabet,  discover  its  power 
and  its  eternal  laws,  put  reason  against  blind  faith,  array 
science  against  superstition,  and  the  ever-living  fountain  of 
knowledge  against  the  petrified  mummies  of  creeds  and  doc- 
trines, and   state  with  crushing  earnestness  :      u  Vanity  of 
vanities,  all  is  dream  and  vanity." 

And  the  cry  is  caught  up  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands, and  is  re-echoed  :  Vanity  of  vanities  !  What  do  we 
know?  what  can  we  know?  How  can  you  stake  the  creed 
of  your  church  against  the  stern  proof  of  science  and  against 
real,  tangible  knowledge?  Oh,  how  bitterly  has  the  human 
race  been  deceived  !  How  shamefully  has  it  been  enslaved 
by  the  selfish  trickeries  of  the  clergy!  Down  with  it;  the 
sooner  the  better.  Let  us  break  down  these  follies.  We 
want  no  religion.  We  are  men,  and  scorn  and  laugh  at  these 
old  follies  and  mummeries. 

Well,  all  right ;  no  religion  !  Let  us  abide  for  a  moment 
by  this  verdict.  We  know  nothing ;  we  can  not  know  any- 
thing. All  we  have  to  do  is  to  live,  to  eat,  and  to  •  drink,  to 
support  our  families  ;  everything  else  is  mere  sham,  n  bubble 
that  will  burst  sooner  or  later.  Let  us  suppose  they  are 
right,  and  let  us  join  the  grand  chorus  :  "  There  is  nothing 
of  interest  to  ourselves  but  we  ourselves,  and  be  done  with 
everything  else." 

Right,  all  right ;  but  let  us  examine  this  standpoint  from 
the  social,  the  scientific,  and  lastly,  from  a  religious  point  of 
view. 

All  is  nothing;  and  with  the  last  shovel  of  earth  they  will 
throw  upon  our  coffin,  or  with  the  ashes  which  will  remain  in 
the  furnace  of  cremation,  there  is  an  end,  an  absolute  end  of 


—  158  — 

it.     Dust   to  dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes,  that  is  all,  the  real 
philosophy  of  life,  and  there  is  nothing  behind  and  over  it. 

\<>\\\  if  this  be  the  case,  I  would  like  to  know  for  what 
reason  I  should  not  try  to  make  the  best  and  most  agreeable 
out  of  this  short  lease  of  existence.  I  would  like  to  know 
why  I  shall  govern  my  passions  and  restrain  my  lusts  and 
curb  my  pleasures  and  desires,  and  shall  not  try  to  gratify 
and  to  satisfy  them  to  the  utmost  of  my  capacity. 

I  would  like  to  know  why,  for  what  reason,  I  shall  respect 
property.  What  common  sense,  in  the  name  of  common 
sense,  is  there  in  the  fact  that  you  count  your  fortune  by  the 
hundreds  of  thousands,  not  knowing  even  how  to  use  the  in- 
terest of  your  capital,  while  your  fellow-man  near  by  starves 
and  leads  a  life  of  care,  anxiety,  trouble  and  misery? 

What  sense  is  there  in  your  living  in  a  house,  finished 
and  furnished  in  the  most  elegant  style,  occupying  perhaps 
t<»  the  utmost  five  or  six  rooms,  and  using  the  others  for 
mere  show  and  display,  while  that  poor  workman,  with  'a 
a  wife  and  six  children,  is  crammed  into  one  or  two  little, 
damp  and  musty  rooms?  Why  this  arrangement?  Why 
this  injustice? 

Come  here.  I  love  that  woman  there  whom  you  call  your 
wife  and  the  mother  of  your  children,  and  she  loves  me,  too. 
Dust  to  dust  and  ashes  to  ashes  !  Why  shall  we  go  around 
and  about,  fretting  and  longing  one  for  the  other?  Why  not 
gratify  the  desire  of  our  hearts,  the  longing  of  our  souls,  and 
enjoy  the  hour  of  sweet  intoxication  which  love's  golden  cup 
offers  to  us  so  temptingly,  so  alluringly? 

lC  ( )h,"  I  hear  you  exclaiming  down  there  ;  "  you  exaggerate, 
you  talk  in  the  pulpit  like  a  man  who  has  lost  his  senses! 
What  shall  become  of  society,  what  of  the  family,  what  of 
property,  if  such  principles  are  taught,  proclaimed  and  recog- 
nized? Do  you  wish  to  bring  on  another  Babel?  Nobody 
dreams  of  such  teachings,  of  such  principles!  These  are 
only  the  scarecrows,  the  nightmares,  with  which  you  priests 
try  to  frighten  the  people  into  submission  and  obedience  to 
your  caste !  " 


—  159  — 

Nobody  dreams  of  those  principles,  you  say?  Stop  a  little 
and  let  us  look  around  and  listen  to  the  voices  of  our  age. 
There  was  a  book  published  in  Paris  which  created  intense 
excitement;  it  is  entitled  Properte  c'est  le  Vol  "  Property  is 
Nothing  but  Wholesale  Theft."  There  is  stern  logic  in  that 
book ;  and  it  calls  on  the  masses  to  redistribute  the  goods 
on  earth,  and  to  realize  the  teachings  of  the  fraternity  and 
equality  of  men. 

"Ah !  "  you  say,  "  we  know  that  Proudhon,  that  eccentric 
visionary,  who  wrote  that  book,  who  was  known  and  laughed 
at  all  over  Paris.     He  was  but  an  individual,  and  who  cares 

for  him?" 

Well,  if  you  do  not  wish  to  look  at  an  individual,  then 
look  at  the  Internationals,  who  spread  their  meshes  all  over 
Europe,  and  hear  their  teachings.  They  say,  Why  do  you 
respect  property?  You  answer,  justice  demands  it.  We  say 
it  is  injustice.  You  cling  to  such  ideas  only  because  you 
are  used  to  them,  have  been  reared  and  educated  in  them. 
We  will  give  you  another  education  and  another  instruction, 
and  you  will  soon  learn  to  see  otherwise,  and  to  conceive  and 
to  judge  otherwise. 

But,  you  will  answer,  how  can  the  human  society,  the 
State, 'the  community,  exist,  if  you  undermine  the  family 
and  every  other  human  institution?  They  shall  not  exist 
as  they  now  exist,  is  the  sharp  and  quick  reply.  They  are 
founded  upon  might  above  right;  upon  the  supremacy  of 
capital  against  labor,  of  the  privilege  of  the  few  against  the 
suffering  of  the  masses.  The  State  and  the  community  and 
human  society  have  to  be  reorganized,  have  to  be  recon- 
structed; we  have  a  new  code  of  laws,  written  by  Fourier, 
and  St.  Simon,  by  which  we  shall  change  this  vale  of  tears 
into  a  Paradise  of  pleasure.  Down  with  the  present  fabric  of 
lie  and  injustice,  and  let  us  rear  the  temple  of  fair  and  un- 
biased equality. 

Oh !  you  say,  these  are  only  dreams,  never  to  be  realized. 
Ah,  do  you  see  there  the  lurid  flames  of  the  Commune ;  do 
you  hear  the  petroleum  balls  exploding;  do  you  see  the 
scum  of  humanity  reveling  in  blood  and  wine?     Dust  to 


—  160  — 

dust  and  ashes  to  ashes,  is  their  cry.  and  the  hour  we  have 
enjoyed  is  ours  and  everything  else  is  a  lie. 

And  the  family?  They  do  not  want  wives  and  husbands. 
they  do  not  wish  for  parental  care  and  love,  for  filial  grati- 
tude and  affection.  Children?  The  community  must  take 
care  of  them.  Come,  ye  Apostles  of  free  love,  and  preach 
your  new  gospel ;  come,  ye  communities  of  free  love,  and  set 
us  the  example  of  general  prostitution;  come,  now  ye  Mor- 
mons, and  teach  us,  as  the  man  may  indulge  in  fifty  wives, 
so  the  woman  may  indulge  in  fifty  men;  it  is  only  the 
logical  reverse  of  your  premises.  The  moment  rules  and 
egotism  governs,  and  he  who  enjoys  the  most  acts  the  best. 
Down  with  every  other  principle;  they  have  no  reason,  no 
foundation,  and  no  answer  to  the  question  :  Why  shall  I 
restrain  and  curb  myself? 

This  is  the  point  we  will  come  to ;  this  the  direction  we 
are  steering  in.  You  shudder  at  it ;  but  there  is  no  reason, 
none,  why  it  should  be  otherwise.  Of  course  the  final  result 
will  be  a  war  of  all  against  all,  a  stepping  hack  from  civiliza- 
tion into  barbarism.  For  after  all  there  still  will  be  the 
strong  and  the  weak;  the  enterprising  and  daring  and 
the  lazy  and  cowardly,  the  scheming  and  ambitious  and 
the  inert  and  the  peaceable;  a  new  kind  of  oppression  will 
follow,  worse  and  bloodier  than  we  dream  of;  and  such 
a  one  as  Robespierre  and  Marat  and  the  guillotine  have 
taught  us.  But  it  is  the  logical  consequence  of  the  sentence, 
dust  to  dust,  and  all  else  is  crack-brained,  wild  fancy  ! 

So  much  from  the  social  point  of  view;  this  is  the  logical 
and  matter-of-fact  answer  to  the  question.  u  Religion  or  no 
religion?  "  But  let  us  now  put  this  picture  aside  ;  and  coolly 
and  calmly  consider  our  subject  from  the  scientific  stand- 
point. 

There  you  now  hear  a  continuous  talk  about  Darwin, 
Tyndal,  Huxley,  and  their  eminent  compeers.  Did  you 
read  the  great  speech  which  Tyndal  delivered  before  the  Bel- 
fast Association,  in  [reland?  Did  you  peruse  the  other 
lecture,  delivered  before  the  sain.-  association  by  the  great 
Huxley?     They  are  no  scoffers,  and  no  Internationals,  and 


— 161  — 

no  Communists ;  they  are  the  men  of  calm,  stern,  irrefutable 
science,  they  are  men  who  assert  nothing  but  what  they  can 
prove.  They  show  you  by  the  hand  writing  of  nature,  that 
the  history  of  creation,  as  recorded  in  the  Bible,  can  no 
longer  be  sustained.  They  analyze  the  human  mind  and  all 
the  intellectual  faculties,  and  from  the  animal  world  upward 
they  prove  that  we  are  but  a  higher  evolution,  a  higher 
manifestation,  but  not  the  Lord's  as  we  have  dreamt.  They 
take  the  Bible,  and  tear  it  and  cast  its  leaves  to  the  four 
winds  of  heaven ;  they  show  you,  by  their  sharp  reason- 
ing, that  all  your  theology  is  nothing  but  a  visionary  false- 
hood. Educate  mankind,  they  say,  and  they  will  outgrow 
your  follies,  and  a  new  and  better  era  will  dawn  upon  the 
deluded,  cheated  and  derided  human  race. 

This  is  the  opinion,  the  superficial  one,  which  man  outside 
of  the  pale  of  science,  entertains  of  the  new  discoveries  and 
the  new  discoverers.  This  is  the  new-fangled  Hosanna, 
which  here  is  whispered  in  the  neighbor's  ear,  and  which 
there  is  proclaimed  with  wild  enthusiasm.  Down  with  your 
religious  mummeries.  It  is  all  folly,  and  the  sooner  we  get 
rid  of  them  the  better  for  us  all.  Science,  and  no  more 
religion  !  this  is  the  motto  of  our  enlightened,  progressive 
age. 

Well,  now  let  us  look  into  those  doctrines,  and,  with  the 
unbaised  frankness  and  impartiality  with  which  we  have 
scrutinized  the  social  question,  let  us  see  where  we  will 
come  to. 

First  comes  the  history  of  the  creation,  and  it  is  asserted 
that  it  did  not  come  to  pass  as  the  Bible  relates  it.  Granted ; 
what  do  we  care  for  that?  Our  religion  does  not  consist 
of  a  book,  and  is  not  composed  of  mere  letters.  We  all 
know  now  that  the  books  of  the  Bible  were  written  at 
various  times  and  by  at  least  fifty -two  different  authors. 
We  know  that  the  theories  and  systems  of  the  various 
nations  and  religions  surrounding  these  authors  were  not 
without  influence  on  the  compilation  of  the  books  and  their 
writers,  though  they  all  inflexibly  and  invariably  maintained 


—  162  — 

the  sublime  principle  of  One,  nay  One,  indivisible,  spiritual 
and  eternal  God. 

We  all  know  that  the  letter  killeth  and  the  spirit  re- 
viveth.  We  cheerfully  subscribe  to  this  sentence,  which  the 
prophet  already  had  laid  down,  when  he  said  :  y'lV  T^  'nn 
"pB3  TVO®  "tC'N  nam  first  the  spirit,  and  then  the  letter.  We 
are  fully  aware  that  the  Bible  can  no  longer  be  read  and 
taught,  as  we  have  learned  it,  and  have  been  taught  it.  We 
must  divest  it  of  the  language  used  at  that  distant  time,  of  the 
expressions  which  were  customary,  of  the  figures  in  which 
they  dressed  their  thoughts  and  icleas.  We  must  translate 
all  this  into  our  own  language ;  we  must  change  it  into  our 
strain  and  mode  of  thinking ;  and  then  and  only  then  shall 
we  begin  to  understand  the  real  meaning  and  the  real  in- 
trinsic worth  of  the  Bible.  We  shall  then,  of  course,  be  (ou- 
st rained  to  give  up  many  cherished  ideas,  many  a  prejudice, 
long  and  tenderly  nursed ;  but  we  shall  not  lose  anything 
by  it,  neither  shall  religion  and  the  Bible ;  nay,  we  all  shall 
merely  gain  by  it. 

Well,  the  men  of  science  say,  the  creation  followed  another 
process  than  that  described  in  the  theory  of  six  days ;  if  they 
prove  it,  all  right.  Our  old  rabbis,  with  their  usual  sagacity, 
already  in  the  remote  times  of  thousands  of  years  ago,  have 
laid  down  the  principle  npyM  pmn  p«  naano  mOT»3  penn  pK 
TWWia  knowing  but  too  well,  that  science  and  progress  and 
continuous  investigation  would  change  the  literal  tenor  of 
the  Bible.  Hail,  then,  hail  to  science,  which  dispels  super- 
stition, does  away  with  mere  fables  and  fictions,  and  teaches 
us,  as  Kepler  glorified  himself  in  saying :  I  am  permitted 
to  rethink  the  divine  thought  of  the  Creator  ! 

The  men  of  science  assert :  "  Evolution  instead  of  succes- 
sive creation ;  eternal  laws  instead  of  successive  changes." 
I  like  this  idea;  it  is  grand,  glorious,  sublime,  and  by  far 
more  corresponding  with  the  infinite  wisdom  of  the  Creator 
than  a  successive  patchwork.  It  displays  a  power  beyond 
the  reach  of  human  conception ;  it  exhibits  a  plan  as  im- 
mense as  the  universe,  with  its  immeasurable  time  and 
space,  into  which  the  human  mind  can  not  follow — no,  which 


—  163  - 

the  mind  can  not  even  imagine.  Push  on,  onward  and  up- 
ward, thou  divine  spark  that  illuminates  the  mortal  clay, 
the  frail  frame  of  man.  The  book  of  nature  is  a  book  of 
revelation  indeed,  written  by  the  finger  of  God,  and  we  like 
to  read  and  to  understand  it. 

So  far  so  good.  But  they  go  too  far.  In  analyzing  the 
human  muid  and  analyzing  the  human  consciousness  they 
reduce  man  to  a  mere  machine,  to  an  exceedingly  well-con- 
structed engine.  We  are  here  neither  in  an  academy  of  science 
nor  in  a  college  of  medicine  to  discuss  subjects  of  anatomy, 
physiology  and  kindred  sciences.  But  the  result  of  all  this 
investigation  is,  that  there  are  nerves  in  the  human  body 
which,  like  the  keys  of  a  piano-forte,  must  give  such  a  sound 
if  touched  in  this  way,  and  another  sound  if  played  in 
another  way.  All  will  and  must  be  reduced  to  a  certain 
mathematical  formula,  and  soul  and  mind  and  conscience 
1)eing  thus  shriveled  up  in  a  living  skeleton,  we  are,  as  Hux- 
ley says,  mere  automatons,  and  every  moral  responsibility 
will  cease,  and  every  moral  liability  has  to  be  cancelled. 
Whatever  can  not  be  dissected  by  the  scalpel,  or  weighed  on 
a  physician's  balance,  or  analyzed  in  a  chemist's  crucible,  is 
nothing,  is  fancy,  is  imagination,  and  has  to  be  blotted  out 
from  life's  stern  reality. 

I  recollect  having  delivered  in  this  city  the  funeral  sermon 
by  the  side  of  the  coffin  of  one  of  our  Jewish  physicians. 
The  men  of  the  various  medical  colleges  crowded  the  gloomy 
room.  I  knew  many  of  them,  sound  and  stern  materialists. 
When  I  had  spoken  but  a  few  minutes,  the  poor  widow  and 
the  children  began  to  wail  and  to  cry  aloud.  I  asked  them  : 
iw  Is  it  true  that  this  corpse  is  the  last?  Dust  to  dust  and 
ashes  to  ashes  and  be  done  with?  Come,  ye  medical  men, 
bring  me  one  of  the  tears  shed  by  those  mourners  who  are 
bereft  of  father  and  husband ;  bring  me  one  of  those  tears ; 
let  us  analyze  it  even  under  the  microscope,  and  show  me 
where  is  the  grief,  the  sadness,  the  bitter  emotion,  which 
made  out  of  those  tears  more  than  a  mere  drop  of  salt  water. 
No  spectrum,  and  no  balance,  and  no  crucible  will  show  it, 


—  164  — 

and  still  we  know,  we  feel,  that  it  is  therein  and  must  be 
somewhere." 

But  I  say  these  discoveries  carried  on  beyond  their  legiti- 
mate sphere  must  destroy  all  moral  liability  and  responsi- 
bility. I  shall  now  read  you  a  short  leader,  published  in  the 
Tribune,  the  most  liberal  paper  of  the  Eastern  metropolis  on 
the  same  morning  on  which  it  brought  Huxley's  last  ora- 
tion. It  says  :  "  If  Ave  are  to  push  to  ultimate  conclusions 
the  theory  that  the  acts  of  the  lower  animals  are  purely 
automatic,  we  shall  be  immediately  confronted  by  the  exten- 
sion of  that  theory,  which  is  demanded  by  the  similar  ana- 
tomy of  man.  If  this  point  is  yielded,  we  are  brought  face 
to  face  with  the  problem  presented  in  the  case  of  the 
wounded  French  soldier,  who  is  scrupulously  honest  when 
the  sound  part  of  his  brain  is  acting,  but  who  is  an  inveter- 
ate thief  when  under  the  influence  of  its  wounded  portion. 
In  the  latter  condition  he  is  plainly  an  irresponsible  being, 
who  knows  not  whether  he  is  eating  beefsteak  or  asafretida, 
whether  he  is  smoking  pine  shavings  or  tobacco ;  whether 
he  is  handling  a  cane  or  a  musket.  Yet  he  is  the  same, 
being  who  at  other  times  exhibits  no  lack  of  ordinary  reason 
or  sensibility.  Not  only  theological  dogmas,  but  our  entire 
criminal  jurisprudence,  nay,  the  structure  of  society  itself 
must  be  affected  by  these  problems.  A  murderer  brought 
before  a  court  of  justice  might  admit  that  he  struck  the 
blow,  but  allege  that  the  murder  was  simply  a  piece  of  un- 
conscious cerebration.  Certainly  no  court  of  to-day  would 
accept  such  a  plea ;  but  the  plea  is  in  full  harmony  with 
scientific  teachings." 

That  is  the  verdict  of  the  liberal  press.  Our  entire  crim- 
inal jurisprudence,  nay,  the  structure  of  society  itself,  will  be 
endangered  by  these  theories.  Here  we  lai.d,  here  we  come 
into  a  pandemonium  .of  hell,  in  which  the  wild  passions  of 
the  rabble  and  the  ignorant  masses  are  aroused  by  the  crack- 
brained  leaders  of  the  Internationals  and  Communists  to  a 
general  destruction  and  desolation,  and  where  their  wild 
theories  are  sanctioned  and  approved  by  the  scientific  teach- 
ings of  our  modern  savants.     It  is  no  dream  and  no  scare- 


— 165  — 

crow.  In  the  German  Parliament  in  Berlin,  one  of  the 
members,  the  noted  delegate  from  Saxony,  elected  and  sent 
by  the  Communists,  openly  declared  :  "  Why  these  palaces? 
why  these  treasures  of  art  and  beauty?  why  these  splendid 
halls?  Down  with  them;  huts  will  do  for  us;  modern  civili- 
zation is  a  lie."  This  is  the  haven,  this  the  port,  into  which 
the  principle  "  no  religion  "  must  and  will  finally  steer  its 
ship  surmounted  with  the  red  flag  and  driven  by  its  black, 
rugged,  wind- torn  sails. 

But  some  of  you  will  say :  "  We  assert  '  no  religion,' 
and  are  we  guilty  of  these  excesses  you  so  vividly  depict? 
Do  we  advocate  those  extravagances  you  are  exhibiting?"  To 
this  I  answer  :  I  have  shown  you  only  the  signs  of  the  times, 
of  which  you  can  read  in  every  morning  paper.  I  have 
shown  you  only  the  logical  consequence,  to  which  the  prin- 
ciple "  no  religion"  must  inevitably  lead.  It  will  not  be 
carried  out  at  once,  as  little  as  Rome  was  built  in  one 
day.  And  lastly,  you  all  have  more  religion  than  you  are 
dreaming  of,  as  almost  every  man  has  more  religion  than  he 
is  aware  of.  He  can  not  help  having  religion,  no  matter 
in  how  many  various  forms  it  may  manifest  itself,  and  this 
point  leads  us  to  the  other  question  :  Shall  we,  must  we,  have 
religion? 

Man  is  not  responsible  for  more  than  what  is  given  unto 
him.  The  elements  which  constitute  the  man  we  can  easily 
find  out  and  work  accordingly.  They  have  manifested  them- 
selves in  the  history  of  the  human  race  and  the  individual ; 
they  have  assisted  in  organizing  human  life  in  its  domestic, 
social  and  political  sphere ;  they  can  not  be  denied,  unless 
the  world  is  to  be  decried  as  a  lunatic  asylum,  as  a  farce? 
without  sense  and  without  meaning. 

These  elements  must  be  listened  to ;  disobedience  will  be 
punished  by  the  eternal  laws  which  govern  them ;  they  may 
for  some  time  be  diverted  from  their  regular  course ;  but  the 
action  is  followed  by  reaction,  and  these  elements  surely  re- 
gain the  supremacy.  Just  as  the  physical  man  will  starve 
himself  to  death  if  he  refuses  the  food  which  his  physical 
nature  peremptorily  requires,  so  do  the  intellectual,  moral 


—  166  — 

and  emotional  elements  in  man  claim  their  rights;  they  are 
innate  and  can  not  be  denied,  unless  disorder  disturbs  the 
organization  of  the  individual,  no  less  than  that  of  human 
society. 

These  elements  are  clearly  indicated  by  the  short  sen- 
tences :  we  think,  we  feel,  we  act.  No  man  of  sound  reason 
will  deny  or  dispute  these  facts ;  or,  in  other  words,  we  are 
endowed  with  mind,  with  conscience  and  with  affections. 
Now,  what  is  the  function  of  these  elements? 

The  mind  thinks,  investigates  and  wants  to  know  the  cause 
of  every  effect  and  every  event.  By  an  innate,  irresistible  force, 
and  partly  by  all  the  needs  and  wants  of  the  outside  world,  it 
is  continually  driven  to  look  out  for  the  connection  between 
the  various  links  of  life  and  nature.  The  questions  why  and 
whence  and  how,  are  already  on  the  lips  of  the  child,  and 
linger  still  on  the  lips  of  the  old  man.  From  the  visible  it 
presses  on  the  invisible,  from  the  tangible  it  stretches  its 
feelers  to  the  spiritual,  and  always  wants  to  reach  higher  on 
the  ladder  of  the  universe.  It  stretches,  it  longs,  it  pushes 
on  for  the  unfathomable,  unreachable,  and  longs  for  a  final 
cause  in  which  it  can  rest ;  it  can  not  hover  in  the  bottom- 
less space  and  time ;  it  longs  for  a  foundation,  on  which  it 
can  settle  with  its  tormenting  questions. 

But  to  the  question,  Who  art  thou,  what  art  thou,  how  art 
thou?  there  comes  no  positive  answer.  The  finite  mind  can 
not  grasp  the  infinite.  "  No  human  eye  can  see  me  and 
Live,"  says  the  Bible  in  its  figurative  language.  We  are  sur- 
rounded by  a  world  of  living  wonders,  which  excite  our 
curiosity  but  refuse  to  still  it.  There  are  millions  of  visible 
worlds  above  us  on  the  starry  horizon  ;  we  see  them,  we  cal- 
culate their  orbits;  we  measure  them,  we  weigh  them,  but 
when  we  ask  :  Are  you  inhabited,  ye  million  of  suns,  what 
is  going  on  upon  your  surface?  they  move  on  in  majestic 
silence  unmindful  of  our  inquisitive  mind;  and  sing  only 
their  hymns  of  the  sphere  melodies;  and  there  remains  the 
eternal  conundrum  in  all  its  grandeur,  majesty  and  sub- 
limity. 

Man    would   be   lost   in   this   vast   ocean   that    stretches 


—  167  — 

around  and  above  him  ;  he  would  not  know  in  what  direction 
to  steer  the  tossed  boat  of  his  life  were  it  not  that  a  mag- 
netic needle  is  given   unto  him,  that  points  out  his  way 
and  his  journey.     You   see  order  around  you,  it  says,  and 
order  is  required  of  you  ;  you  see  eternal  laws  around  you, 
and  laws  you  have  to  obey;  you  see  harmony  around  you, 
and  in  harmony  and  for  the  purpose  of  harmony  you,  too, 
have  to  watch  and  to  work.     No  disorder,  no  destruction ; 
no  self-willed,  uncontrolled  and  uncontrollable  passion;   as 
these  immense  orbits  follow  their   own  ways  and  still  by 
gravitating  one  toward  another  keep  up  the  heavenly  har- 
mony, so  you,  too,  must  follow  your  own  road  in  such  a  man- 
ner that  it  will  harmonize  with  others ;  as  the  elements  of 
nature  aggregate  and  form  the  substance  of  the  sun,  and  the 
leviathan  and  the  worm  that  writhes  at  your  feet,  so,  ye  men, 
shall  aggregate  and  co-operate  with  each  other  to  work  out 
your  task.     This  is  the  language  of  conscience,  the  magnetic 
needle  in  trie  stormy  bosom  of  man  and  mankind ;  and  it 
teaches,  and  it  demands  and  commands  order  and  justice 
and  equity,  and  advances  the  harmony  of  human  history  and 
human  society. 

But  that  is  not  all,  that  is  not  enough.  More  has  been 
given  unto  us,  and  for  more  we  are  still  answerable  and 
liable.  Conscience  teaches  us  mere  duty,  solemn  and  stern 
obligations ;  but  there  is  more,  something  better,  something 
nobler  in  man,  the  human  heart,  with  its  affections,  with  its 
sweet,  dear  and  blissful  emotions.  The  heart  is  not  satisfied 
with  compliance  with  stern  duty,  the  heart  is  not  contented 
with  mere  obedience  to  imperative  obligations;  it  wants 
more,  it  thirsts  for  more,  it  gives  more,  it  wants  and  desires 
and  gives  love.  Wendel  Philips  truly  says  the  heart  has  its 
own  logic  ;  and  the  German  Poet  truthfully  sings  : 

"sin  imermefjenen  SSeltftyfteme 

2)te  fcbonfte  s^erle  bev  9Jatur, 
v\u  tljrem  etraljttnbiabeme 

Dev  reid?fte  Xemanb  an  ber  £$nur, 
3>a§  fyodjfte  SDBunber  nnter  alien, 

2)a§  3Reiftertoct! in  SRount  uttb  ;>eit, 
DoS  tft  bag  §erj  in  feinem  -ffiallen— 

2>a§  fterj  in  fetner  Stvuntenfyeit. 


—  168  — 

There  is  no  egotism,  there  is  no  selfishness,  there  is  only 
the  unquenchable  desire  to  make  happy,  to  propagate  joy,  to 
multiply  gladness  and  felicity,  and  there  come  descending 
and  ascending  on  the  ladder  that  reaches  from  earth  to 
hen  veil  and  unites  heaven  with  earth  in  the  holiest  and  sweet- 
est bonds,  the  angels  of  charity,  benevolence,  kindness,  good- 
ness, forbearance  and  love,  the  best  and  greatest  of  all,  and 
wipe  away  the  tears  of  sorrow,  and  smooth  the  furrows  of 
care  and  anxiety,  and  heal  the  wounded  and  broken-hearted, 
and  they  call  their  brother  angel,  "  Hope,"  to  their  assistance  ; 
and  light  breaks  into  darkness,  and  a  rosy  dawn  follows  the 
gloomy  night,  and  the  golden  rays  of  the  day  the  heaviness 
of  despondency,  and  the  human  heart  shouts  in  exultant 
joy:  Man,  that  is  thy  work,  thy  task,  thy  charge,  and  be 
thou  blessed,  for  thy  creation,  the  creation  of  love,  is  better, 
nobler  and  grander,  than  the  mute,  silent,  sternly  obedient 


universe 


This, -my  friends,  is  religion  :  truth,  justice  and  love.  This 
is  the  religion  revealed  here  in  the  heart,  taught  here,  in- 
scribed here  on  the  tablets  that  can  not  be  broken,  and  stand 
like  the  rocks  of  eternity.  This  is  not  the  wild,  destructive 
passion  of  the  Socialist,  the  International  and  the  Commu- 
nist ;  this  is  not  the  automaton  of  the  scientist ;  this  is  life,  and 
love,  and  hope,  and  order,  and  light.  It  is  a  sanctum  sanc- 
torum, before  which  mind  and  conscience  and  heart  bow 
down  like  the  high-priest  before  the  holy  ark  when  he  blessed 
his  people  and  mankind. 

But  now  comes  your  turn  again,  and  I  hear  you  say: 
a  Yes,  we  cheerfully  subscribe  and  acknowledge  allegiance 
to  such  a  religion.  But  stop  a  little;  look  around  you 
and  compare  therewith  the  teachings  and  doctrines  of 
the  various  churches,  creeds  and  denominations.  Instead 
of  light  you  find  blind  faith  ;  instead  of  truth  you  find 
creeds,  that  defy  all  common  sense  and  reason;  instead  of 
love  you  find  prejudice  and  sectarian  arrogance.  Thank 
God  that  man  in  general  is  better  and  more  enlightened 
than  bis  church  <>r  bis  creed,  or  else  human  society  could 
not  live  and  could  not  exist  together.     This  is  the  religion 


—  169  — 

against  which  we  protest,  which  we  dislike  and  disapprove  of. 
If  you  please,  what  have  you  to  answer  to  this  objection  and 
exception  ? 

I  have  not  to  answer  for  other  creeds  and  other  religions. 
I  do  not  wish  and  do  not  intend  to  meddle  with  them.  We 
are  both  too  tolerant  for  that.  I  have  merely  to  answer  for 
my  religion  and  your  religion  and  I  am  ready  to  do  that 
whenever  called  upon. 

What  does  our  religion  say  to  the  mind,  the  conscience 
and  the  heart?  To  the  mind  first.  Let  us  open  the  Bible 
and  it  begins  with  the  sublime  words  :  "  Let  there  be  light." 
Our  language,  says  Weaver,  no  language  can  afford/  an  ex- 
pression of  grander  force.  Rhetoricians  pronounce  it  the 
sublimes^  sentence  in  human  language.  "  Let  there  be  light," 
this  is  the  first  and  supreme  command  for  the  mind.  No 
blind  faith,  no  submission  to  feigned,  infallible  authorities ; 
there  is  but  one  mediator  between  God  and  man,  and  that  is 
common  sense  and  reason. 

Yes,  work  on,  ye  scientists ;  unravel  the  mysteries  of 
creation;  rethink  the  thoughts  of  the  Creator;  we  follow 
you,  and  still  we  stand  on  the  ground  of  Judaism ;  it  approves 
of  your  indomitable  researches,  it  encourages  you,  nay,  it 
commands  you  to  carry  on  your  investigations,  for  it  says  : 
"  Subdue  the  earth  and  have  dominion  over  it ;  "  or,  as  the 
'German  poet  says : 

(Srgriinbe  bie  ©efefce  ber  Sfatur, 
(Srforfc^e  t^re§  2Balten§  tnadjt'ge  (Spur; 

33erfolge  fie  auf  jeber  ^Safin, 
-Madf  fie  bent  3Jlenfc§cn  untertban. 

Sag  bringt  bir  Gtire  unb  SSerbienft, 
£ter  iff  3,  too  bu  ben  Sorber  bir  geininnft. 

2>ocb  balte  tueife  ftiU  an  biefer  ©renje, 
2)enn  ^enfcitS  bliib/n  bem  ??orid)er  feine  ftranje. 

The  poet  was  right.  For  here  stands  the  eternal  mystery, 
the  eternal  problem.  And  Judaism  does  not  try  to  solve 
it.  It  does  not  pretend  to  prove  more  than  can  be  known. 
And  to  the  great  question  :  What  art  thou?  It  has  no 
other  answer  but  nviK.  "  I  am,  what  I  am,"  and  you,  mortal, 
frail  man,  take  off  the  shoe  from  thy  foot,  for  the  ground 
upon  which  thou  standeth  is  holy  ground. 


—  170  — 

But  this  sublime,  unknowable  and  unfathomable  mystery 
is  not  such  a  mystery  that  stands  in  no  connection  and  in 
no  correspondence  with  man.  No,  Judaism  says  :  Here  is 
thy  conscience,  and  here  thy  innate  sense  of  duty,  and  I  am 
the  Lord,  who  has  created  and  endowed  thee  with  these 
faculties;  and  thou  hast  to  live  up  to  that  which  has  been 
given  unto  thee.  It  does  not  say  with  the  scientist,  thou  art 
an  irresponsible  automaton ;  no,  it  says,  the  sin  lies  at  the 
door ;  unto  thee  is  its  desire,  but  thou  shalt  and  canst  con- 
quer it.  It  does  not  indulge  in  the  visionary  dreams  of  the 
Red  Republic  and  of  Communism ;  there  stand  the  ten  sacred 
commands  which  teach  us  to  respect  life  and  property.  It 
knows  too  well  that  men  are  not  all  born  on  one  level ;  it  knows 
too  well  that  Communism  and  Socialism  would  undermine 
the  individuality  of  man  and  break  down  his  title  and  the 
intrinsic  excellence  of  humanity.  Hence  it  says  p*l¥  plV. 
Righteousness  and  justice  shalt  thou  pursue;  that  is  my 
warning  given  to  human  conscience. 

And  what  does  it  say  to  the  heart?  What  does  it  teach  it? 
Oh,  if  love  could  be  commanded,  if  it  were  not  in  itself  life's 
end,  life's  wealth,  life's  reward — it  is  enjoined  on  every  page 
of  its  Bible.  Love  thy  God  and  love  thy  fellow-man,  love 
the  poor  and  the  needy,  the  stranger  and  the  homeless,  the 
widow  and  the  orphan,  so  it  commands  from  the  beginning 
to  its  end.  No  feast  and  no  enjoyment,  no  pleasure  and  no 
blessing,  but  they  are  remembered  who  appeal  to  our  heart 
and  to  our  affections.  And  as  the  Bible  speaks  so  continue 
the  Rabbis.  Charity  and  benevolence  are  of  more  worth 
than  all  the  observance  of  empty  ceremonies,  says  the  one. 
The  basis  of  the  Law  is,  love  thy  fellow-man  like  thyself,  says 
the  second.  sjn  K3*7  NJ»m  Heaven  begs  only  for  your 
heart,  says  a  third.  And  a  fourth,  the  great  Rabbi  Yo- 
chanan  says  lltt  3^?  give  him  a  kind,  loving  heart  and  man 
will  accomplish  his  mission  to  its  fullest  and  noblest  extent. 

So  speaks  Judaism,  so  teaches  Judaism;  such  is  its 
answer  to  your  questions,  to  your  objections.  It  is  in  har- 
mony with  the  mind,  the  conscience  and  the  heart.  It  is  in 
harmony  with  the  progress  of  the  age,  already  made ;  with 


—  171  — 

the  progress  yet  to  be  achieved.  And  proudly  do  I  exclaim  : 
Thank  Heaven  that  I  am  a  Jew,  and  that  I  can  answer  with 
the  prophet,  KT  "OX  nwn  \iSn  HK1  S3JN  nay  I  am  a  Hebrew, 
and  adore  the  Lord  of  Light,  Truth,  Justice  and  Love.  And 
now,  when  in  conclusion  I  put  the  question  to  you  :  'hit  'iT7  SE> 
who  is  on  the  Lord's  side,  let  him  come  unto  me,  will 
you  not  follow  the  summons  of  the  day?  Yes,  you  have 
come  and  you  will  answer,  ^JK  nny  and  Heaven's  best 
blessing  on  you  and  your  good  children  for  this  answer; 
and  when  the  evening  of  our  life  will  come,  and  when  the 
evening  of  this  day  comes,  we  call  in  our  holy  congregation, 
as  did  the  people  around  Elisha,  D'nSKfl  Kin  Tl  Jehovah  is 
God  and  the  Lord,  and  there  is  none  besides  him.     Amen. 


THE  FESTIVAL  OF  THE  SPRING. 


BY  REV.  ISAAC  S.  MOSES, 
•  [Of  Milwaukee,  Wis.] 

The  beautiful  feast  of  the  spring-time,  the  day  of  glorious 
memories  of  the  past  and  of  cheerful  hopes  for  the  future, 
has  appeared,  and  we  Israelites,  with  renewed  love  for  the 
faith  of  our  fathers,  celebrate  an  event  which  testifies  to 
God's  love  to  us  and  of  our  trust  in  him.  Centuries  have 
passed  since  that  event,  nations  have  risen  and  vanished, 
humanity  has  changed  its  appearance,  nay,  we  ourselves 
have  undergone  such  strange  mutations  that  our  very  exist- 
ence is  a  riddle  to  the  historian,  and  yet  we  commemorate 
every  year  this  ancient  occurrence  with  so  great  an  affec- 
tion as  if  we  meant  to  merge  all  our  historical  experiences 
in  this  one  event.  And  why?  Because  it  is  more  than  the 
single  event  marking  the  beginning  of  our  history  which  we 
celebrate  to-day :  the  principle  underlying  our  feast  is  not 
merely  a  remembrance  of  the  past,  it  is  a  state  of  experi- 
ence, it  appeals  to  every  heart,  to  every  mind,  to  every  soul. 
And  as  such  it  is  befitting  that  it  come  to  us  with  the 
coming  of  spring.  For  what  we  celebrate  as  the  doings 
of  God  in  history,  the  spring-time  reveals  to  us  as  the  doings 
of  God  in  nature.  It  is  the  same  lesson  differently  told,  and 
easily  understood  by  those  whose  hearts  are  filled  with  love 
and  whose  minds  reach  out  after  the  truth. 

How  wonderful  is  the  process  of  nature  in  the  spring- 
time !  Where  but  a  few  days  ago  everything  seemed  dead  and 
barren,  the  promises  and  forerunners  of  life  are  appearing. 
Awakened  by  the  loving  glance  of  the  sun,  the  earth  shakes 
off'  the  bonds  of  sleep,  the  fetters  of  the  winter,  and  clothes 
herself  in  beauty ;  the  dry  branch  on  the  tree  assumes  a 
brighter  hue,  and  the  tiny  buds  that  were  hidden  beneath 


—  174  — 

the  sheltering  snow,  kissed  by  the  warming  ray  out  of  their 
slumber,  begin  to  unfold  their  blossoms.  From  the  depths 
beneath,  from  the  heights  above,  the  unfettered  powers 
of  nature  begin  the  work  of  re-creation,  and  every  heart 
and  every  soul  feels  the  strong  pulsations  indicating  new 
strength  and  vigor  of  life.  Even  the  feeble,  the  frail  and 
the  sick  draw  fresh  hope  from  the  overflowing  fountain 
of  promise,  which  the  spring-time  opens  for  all. 

Does  not  every  plant  that  now  gladdens  our  eyes  silently 
proclaim  the  providence  of  God,  saying :  "  I  have  slept 
beneath  the  cover  of  the  dreary  winter,  and  God  protected 
me  while  I  had  no  strength;  darkness  and  death  wen; 
around  me  when  God  poured  his  light  over  my  grave  and 
awakened  me  to  new  life.  I  was  fettered  with  the  bonds 
of  destruction,  and  God  opened  my  prison,  calling  me  forth 
to  joy  and  liberty."  And  while  nature  thus  speaks  to  us,  in 
the  language  of  beauty,  a  voice  within  us  echoes  her  words 
and  thrills  us  with  strange  agitations.  We,  too,  have  expe- 
rienced the  protection  of  God ;  we,  too,  have  felt  his  light 
and  his  truth ;  we,  too,  have  been  liberated  from  the  bonds 
of  a  slavery  with  which  no  earthly  servitude  can  compare. 

As  we  stand  in  the  midst  of  a  reawakened  life,  seeing  the 
signs  of  nature  and  understanding  their  deep  import,  our 
ancient  faith  holds  out,  too,  similar  signs,  symbols  from  the 
past,  that  speak  to  us  of  the  lessons  of  the  present.  And 
these  symbols  are:  The  Paschal  offering,  which,  though  no 
longer  sacrificed  upon  the  altars  of  Jerusalem,  is,  according 
to  its  original  meaning,  a  symbol  of  God's  protection  to  our 
fathers,  "  when  he  punished  the  Egyptians,  and  our  houses 
he  saved,"  the  unleavened  bread  reminding  us  of  the  haste 
in  which  our  fathers  left  the  land  of  their  degradation,  not 
even  having  time  to  prepare  leavened  bread,  "  so  suddenly 
did  God  reveal  himself  to  them  and  redeem  them,"  is  a 
symbol  of  God's  revelation  to  man;  and  bitter  herbs,  signi- 
fying the  bitter  life,  the  hardships  of  servitude  from  which 
God  liberated  our  fathers,  and  led  them  forth  to  a  life  of  free- 
dom, is  a  symbol  of  progress  and  freedom.  They  are  not 
dead,  these  symbols ;  and,  like  the  signs  of  reawakened  life 


—  175  — 

in  nature,  their  meaning  is  not  exhausted  because  they  refer 
to  one  particular  time,  but  they  speak  to  everyone  of  us  the 
intelligible  language  of  our  own  experience.  Let  us,  then, 
try  to  understand  their  meaning,  which  is  so  beautifully 
reflected  in  the  mirror  of  the  spring-time. 

I. 

During  the  months  of  the  winter,  life  in  nature  seemed 
dead  or  sleeping,  but  the  power  that  now  awakens  the  dead 
and  reanimates  the  slumbering,  hovered  over  the  silent  fields 
and  did  not  suffer  the  children  of  nature  to  see  destruction ; 
an  invisible  hand  protected  the  helpless,  until  the  luminous 
days  of  spring  appeared  to  call  them  forth  from  their 
hiding-place. 

Long  and  dreary  was  the  slavery  under  which  our  fathers 
sighed  in  Egypt;  the  yoke  that  was  put  upon  them  was 
calculated  to  crush  out  their  life.  But  He  who  rules  in  his- 
tory "  did  not  sleep  nor  slumber ;  "  He  watched  over  Israel 
and  protected  them  against  destruction,  to  preserve  them 
lor  the  time  of  liberty.  Thus- we  see  the  protection  of  God 
in  nature  and  in  history  alike ;  and,  turning  our  view  from 
the  outward  experience  to  our  own  inner  world,  we  can  not 
help  acknowledging  the  same  fostering  hand  of  God. 

Do  you  remember  the  time  of  your  trials,  when  you  toiled, 
and  your  powers  began  to  fail,  when  you  trusted  and  your 
confidence  was  abused,  when  you  hoped  and  were  deceived, 
and  you  stood  stripped  of  courage  and  bereft  of  hope  and 
the  world  seemed  dead  around  you?  Or  have  you  forgotten 
the  days  of  youthful  error,  when  by  your  own  follies  you 
broke  the  round  on  which  you  stood  and  were  sinking  away 
into  the  depths  of  uselessness,  when  you  mistook  the  aim 
of  life  and  extinguished  the  light  that  was  to  guide  you 
through  the  darkness  of  passion  and  error  to  the  beautiful 
spring  of  a  noble  character?  Who  has  saved  j^ou  from  this 
misery  of  soul?  who  so  ordered  it  that  you  did  not  bury 
your  hopes,  that  you  did  not  stifle  your  love,  that  you  did 
not  lose  your  belief  in  man?     Who  saved  you  when  you 


—  176  - 

stood[at  the  brink  of  destruction,  and  you  were  like  a  frost- 
bitten plant,  a  tree  untimely  broken?  Who  saved  you  from 
the  horror  of  your  self-contempt,  and  preserved  and  strength- 
ened you  for  the  beautiful  time  of  the  unfolding  of  your 
powers  and  your  striving  for  the  better  and  the  higher? 
It  was  God,  who  watches  over  the  helpless ;  it  was  the 
divine  power  in  you  that  aided  your  battling  soul  and 
healed  your  aching  heart — the  divine  hand  that  upholds 
with  tenderness  the  soul  of  erring  children,  and  reaches  out 
to  them  the  loving  hand  of  a  father. 

And  not  only  has  God  protected  us,  but  also  those  who 
are  dearest  to  our  hearts — our  children  with  whom  he  has 
blessed   us.     No   one   can   look   upon  these   tender   plants 
of  ours  without  feeling  the  deepest  sympathy  toward  them. 
Helplessly  they  come  to  us,  helplessly  they  depend  upon  us, 
and  all  the  richness  of  our  nature  and  the  fullness  of  our  love 
to  them  is  inadequate  to  their  need  of  help  from  us.     Number- 
less dangers,  countless  perils  surround  the  feeble  child.  Who 
can  look  upon  the  suffering  of  a  child  without  being  touched 
to  the  heart  as  with  the  pang  of  some  great  woe?     In  such 
moments  we  feel  more  than  ever  our  dependence  upon  the 
protecting  love  of  God  for  watchfulness   over   these  feeble 
plants.     Happy  fathers  and  mothers,  when  you  look  upon 
the  blooming  faces  of  your  children,  remember  that  God  has 
watched  over  them  even  as  he  has  watched  over  the  children 
of   nature.     But  why  do  I  see  tears?     Do  you  remember 
some  flower  that   bloomed  so   beautifully  in   the   autumn, 
which  the  spring-time  can  no  more  awaken?     Be  still,  throb- 
bing heart!  "  Why  dost  thou  writhe  my  soul,  why  dost  thou 
complain?"     Like  a  faithful  gardener,  God  has  trimmed  the 
tree  that  it  shall  bloom  the  fuller  and   be  adorned  with  a 
richer    foliage.      He  woundeth   and   healeth,  and  even  his 
wounding  brings  salvation,  that  the  richer  life,  the  deeper 
sentiment,  struck  by  the   rod  of  sorrow,  shall,  like  a   living- 
spring,  fructify   those  plantlets  which  alone  bear  the  fruit 
of  immortality.     Yes,  God  has  protected  our  children,  those 
that  are  with  us,  and  those  that  await  us.     And  more  than 
that,  God  also  protects  our  work  for  the  future.     Like  the 


—1177  - 

husbandman  who  scatters  the  seed  in  the  autumn  and 
patiently  trusts  through  the  whole  dreary  winter  time,  wait- 
ing for  the  returning  strength  of  the  sun,  and  hoping  to 
reap  the  rich  fruit  of  his  labor,  so  do  we,  day  by  day,  throw 
out  the  seed  of  our  work  upon  the  field  of  humanity,  and 
trust  God  to  protect  our  endeavors,  to  watch  over  our  deeds 
of  love  and  our  efforts  for  the  realization  of  some  great  ideal, 
that  our  strivings  and  our  yearnings  shall  be  justified  by 
the  result,  that  the  fruit  of  our  labor  shall  be  rich  and  whole- 
some, and  be  sufficient  for  those  who  come  after  us  to  live 
upon  and  to  plant  for  the  future  harvest.  What  are  we 
working  for,  but  to  still  the  gnawing  hunger,  to  clothe  the 
freezing  body  and  to  have  shelter  from  the  ruthless  play 
of  nature?  What  a  pitiable  existence  ours  would  be  !  When 
we  look  upon  our  children,  is  it  not  they  for  whom  we  work ; 
is  it  not  they  of  whom  we  hope  that  they  shall  take  our 
place  and  look  back  upon  us  with  gratitude  and  bless  our 
memory  because  we  have  left  them  the  rich  harvest  of  our 
soul's  experience  and  our  mind's  endeavors?  Or,  when  we 
look  around  us  and  see  the  struggles  of  humanity,  and 
notice  the  combat  that  is  going  on  between  the  lower,  selfish 
interest  and  the  higher  aims  of  mankind  toward  the  unfold- 
ing of  freedom,  the  spread  of  truth  and  the  development 
of  purity  and  justice ;  is  it  not  there  where  we  find  our 
work  to  be  a  Avork  for  eternity,  no  matter  how  great  or  small 
our  strength  lies  in  this,  that  we  enlist  for  the  victory  of  the 
nobler  and  the  better?  Or,  when  we  notice  the  hunger  for 
love,  and  the  thirst  for  sympathy,  of  those  who  are  near 
us,  is  not  the  satisfying  of  that  hunger  and  the  quenching 
of  that  thirst  a  nobler  wTork  than  all  our  earthly  avocations? 
To  plant  the  trees  of  genuine  friendship,  so  strong  and  inde- 
structible that  no  winter  of  sorrow,  no  hail  and  ice  and  sleet 
of  fatal  misunderstandings  can  deaden  their  vitality ;  to 
reach  out  the  cup  of  consolation  to  the  mourning  heart  and 
the  light  of  hope  to  the  distressed  and  downcast ;  to  lift  up 
the  lowly,  to  uphold  the  sinking,  to  reinstate  degraded 
humanity  upon  the  throne  of  usefulness  and  honor ;  is  not 
this  our  work  for  life?     But  who  guarantees  us  that  our  best 


—  178  — 

powers  shall  not  be  spent  in  vain,  that  the  plantlets  of  our 
heart  and  mind  shall  not  be  destroyed  by  the  worm  of  ingrat- 
itude, of  envy  and  hatred?  It  is  God  who  protects  our 
work ;  it  is  the  divine  conscience  within  that  tells  us  no  seed 
of  goodness  can  be  destroyed,  and  as  long  as  you  know  that 
you  are  sowing  seeds  of  love  and  doing  works  of  humanity, 
fear  not  the  cold  winter  of  envy  or  malevolence,  God  protects 
your  works  for  the  future. 

II. 

Again:  the  spring-time  is  the  bringer  of  light,  which,  by 
its  gradually  increasing  rays,  draws  forth  the  slumbering 
plants  from  darkness  and  death  to  life  and  growth;  or  the 
sun  comes  with  sudden  strength  and  rends  asunder  the 
graves  of  the  plants  and  causes  them  to  come  forth  in  their 
blooming  garment  of  beauty.  Our  fathers  in  Egypt,  through 
the  long  night  of  misery,  had  lost  that  all-sustaining  power, 
hope  and  confidence  in  God ;  they  could  but  sigh  and  groan 
over  their  labor;  they  had  only  complaints  and  tears,  but 
no  uplifting  of  the  eye  to  him  who  is  absolute  justice  and 
love.  And  yet  their  groanings  reached  up  to  God,  and  his 
help  came  so  suddenly  that  they  could  not  even  prepare 
leavened  bread  for  their  march  to  liberty.  And  thus  the 
lesson  to  us  is  equally  suggestive,  for  it  teaches  us  the 
revelation  of  God  to  man  through  experience. 

It  is  through  our  own  experience  that  our  religious  con- 
sciousness begins  to  dawn,  that  the  God  of  our  fathers  is 
revealed  to  us  and  becomes  our  God.  As  in  the  dim  distance 
of  the  past  men's  minds  were  awakened  from  their  lethargy 
through  the  pressure  of  their  surroundings,  at  first  dimly 
groping  in  the  dark,  and  then  gradually  seeing  more  and 
more  clearly  the  light  of  divine  power  over  them  and  in 
them ;  so  we  are  awakened,  day  by  day,  by  the  wonderful 
occurrences  that  make  the  warp  and  woof  of  our  life,  until 
they  become  the  very  texture  of  our  consciousness,  so  that 
we  fully  realize  the  truth :  "  Not  only  our  fathers,  but  also 
us  has  God  redeemed  in  his  love." 


170 


And    as  it   is    with  the  individual,  so  it   is   with    entire 
nations ;  the  experience  of  the  individual  man  is  the  experi- 
ence of  humanity.    When  we  look  overthe  traces  of  antiquity 
or  examine   the    crude   notions  of  uncivilized  races,  we  are 
struck  with  amazement    at   the  almost  incredible  progress 
of  the  mind  which  leads  us  up  from  the  first  stupid  glance 
at  the  brilliant  sky  and  the  wonderful  scenery  of  nature  to 
the   latest    interrogation   of  inquiring   intelligence.     There 
stand  before  us   the  nations  of  the  past,  trembling  before  a 
fleeting  shadow  and  cowering  in  fear  before  the  rolling  voice 
of  thunder,  seeing   in    every   sight   of  nature   a   magnified 
monster,  an  image  of  themselves,  and  bringing  crude  sacri- 
fices to  the  horrid  creatures  of  their  misguided  imagination. 
And  we  see  them  growing  into  a  clearer  perception  of  the 
surrounding  world,  into  a  finer  sense  of  that  Infinite  Power, 
which    is    the    cause   of    all   causes.     What   explains    this 
growth?     Historians   tell   us   of   influences    from    without, 
of  teachings  that  penetrate  a  nation,  changing  and  mould- 
ing its  conceptions.     No  people  has  ever  been  tutored  into 
the  idea  of  a  God,  or  into  the  doctrines  of  morality  :  they 
found  them  out  by  their  own   experience.     When   calamities 
befell  them  and  they  had  lost  their  confidence  in  their  gods ; 
when  they  were  struggling  for  liberty  and  acquiring  strength 
through  the  combat  for  their  highest  interests,  divine  truth 
dawned  upon  their  consciousness,  the  truth  that  there  is  a 
power  that  breaks  the  chains  of  slavery,  that  hates  tyranny 
and  oppression,  and  punishes  the  injustice  of  the  oppressor. 
Such  events  in  the  life  of  a  people  are  the  true  revelations 
of  God,  and  they  are  sufficient  germs  for  the  growth  and 
development  of  the  purest  and  clearest  ideas,  of  the  rich- 
est   and   ripest    sentiments    that    make    up    the    sum    and 
substance    of    a   people's    religion.     The   redemption   from 
Egypt  was  such  an  event  in  the   life   of  Israel ;  it  was  the 
seed  of  that  mighty  tree  whose  fruit  has  nourished  the  mind 
of  humanity,  the  tree  of  Judaism,  and  its  great  importance 
as   the  beginning  of  a  glorious  future  is,  therefore,  divinely 
expressed  in  the  first  commandment :     '"  I  am  the  Eternal, 


—  ISO  — 

thy  G<xl,  because  I  have  brought  thet  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 
out  of  the  house  of  slavery ." 

Nor  is  it  otherwise  in  our  times,  especially  when  we 
notice  the  present  development  of  Judaism.  There  was  a. 
tiiiM  when  the  beautiful  garden  of  our  religion  was  sur- 
rounded, not  by  a  protecting  fence,  but  by  high  and  thick 
walls  that  shut  out  the  light,  and  under  whose  long  shadows 
the  plants  became  pale  find  sickly;  briars  and 'brambles 
covered  the  most  fertile  portions  and  were  declared  trees 
of  life  and  trees  of  knowledge.  You  still  remember  what 
absurdities  have  been  forced  upon  our  minds,  what  mean- 
ingless forms  and  old,  unintelligible  ceremonies  and  foreign 
customs  that  had  their  origin  in  superstition  and  fear,  have 
been  taught  to  us'  as  religion,  as  the  effluence  of  divine 
wisdom.  During  many  centuries  the  Jewish  mind  labored 
under  this  terrible  bondage,  and  all  the  great  men  of  genius, 
with  whom  the  history  of  Israel  so  richly  abounds,  were 
unable  to  break  the  shackles  of  this  spiritual  slavery.  How 
then  comes  it  that  we  have  a  religion  purified  from  the  dross 
of  superstition,  and  a  beautiful  form  of  worship,  worthy 
of  the  time  in  which  we  live?  Whence  our  courage  to  break 
with  the  traditions  of  the  past  and  create  that  new  spiritual 
phenomenon — Reformed  Judaism?  Are  we  wiser  and  better 
than  our  fathers?  Oh,  no !  but  we  have  found  by  expe- 
rience that  all  these  forms  and  ceremonies  did  not  satisfy 
our  religious  nature,  that  they  did  not  still  the  cravings 
of  our  hearts  nor  bring  us  nearer  to  God.  Who  taught  you 
the  great  lesson  of  spiritual  freedom,  the  liberation  from 
the  thralldom  of  authority?  Was  it  not  your  own  common 
sense  that  had  been  awakened  by  the  luminous  time  of  this 
century?  Yes,  God  reveals  himself  to  us,  not  in  clouds 
and  thunder,  or  in  visions  and  dreams,  but  through  the 
powerful  influence  of  our  own  experience. 

III. 

Lastly  :  the  spring-time  is  the  time  of  joy  and  good  tidings, 
when  our  breast  expands  more  freely  and  we  draw  a  deeper 
breath  in  the  warm   and  pleasant  air.     Like  the  plants  at 


—  181  — 

our  feet,  we  raise  our  head  with  courage,  for  we  know  that 
the  dreary  winter  is  gone  and  that  nature  is  busy  in  prepar- 
ing a  feast  for  us.  In  such  days  of  cheerfulness  we  love  to 
speak  of  the  unpleasant  time  of  the  winter,  when  our  move- 
ments were  hindered  by  reason  of  the  cold  or  the  snow  and 
the  ice.  Thus  our  fathers,  when  the  time  of  their  liberation 
had  come,  loved  to  revert  in  their  thoughts  to  the  time 
of  their  misery  and  oppression ;  and  when  the  day  of  their 
spring  of  freedom  returned,  they  placed  bitter  herbs  on 
their  festive  boards  as  a  remembrance  of  their  sorrows  and 
humiliations  in  the  land  of  slavery.  For,  as  there  is  no 
greater  agony  than  to  remember  happier  things  in  the  midst 
of  our  distress,  so  there  is  no  greater  satisfaction  than  to 
recall  our  troubles  and  misfortunes  in  the  days  of  our 
happiness. 

Mankind  began  its  career  with  brutal  force  ;  to  be  powerful 
was  to  be  virtuous,  and  the  most  "reckless  tyrant  based  his 
authority  upon  divine  origin,  while  the  people  suffered 
under  the  lash  of  despotism.  Yet  the  blasphemous  theories 
of  tyrants  could  not  protect  their  blood-stained  thrones 
against  an  outraged  and  desperate  people  that  was  long- 
ing for  liberty.  Hence  the  changes  and  continual  redistri- 
bution of  power  that  characterized  ancient  history.  But 
humanity  was  not  destined  forever  to  simply  change  one 
tyrant  for  another ;  a  higher  development  of  freedom  was 
taking  place — the  development  of  political  independence, 
which,  passing  through  many  intermediate  stages,  has  at  last 
borne  its  ripest  fruits  in  England,  France  and  America. 
But  while  the  nations -thus  struggled  for  the  light  of  liberty, 
Israel,  the  first  banner-bearer  of  freedom,  was  made  the 
target  of  intolerance,  and  all  the  bitterness  of  an  enraged 
nation  was  heaped  upon  the  scattered  remnants  of  a, people 
who  celebrated  every  year  a  feast  of  liberty,  as  a  protest 
against  the  narrow-mindedness  of  a  priest-ridden  humanity. 
Those  were  bitter  times  of  persecution  and  humiliation  for 
the  people  of  Israel  when  the  sovereign's  will  and  the  people's 
rights  waged  war  against  each  other,  while  the  poor,  degraded 
few  had  to  pay  the  cost  of  the  battle.     It  made  no  difference 


—  182  - 

to  the  unhappy  Israelite  under  what  government  he  lived, 
exclusion  and  shame  awaited  him  everywhere. 

At  last  the  spring-time  of  liberty  dawned  even  for  Israel. 
The  long  abuse  which  he  had  suffered  from  the  hands 
of  those  who  were  themselves  yearning  for  liberty,  and  his 
firmness  and  unbending  trust  in  the  redeeming  power  of  God 
gradually  awakened  the  conscience  of  the  nations,  who 
began  to  see  in  the  fate  of  Israel  their  own  fate  and  became 
ashamed  of  their  narrow-mindedness,  which  till  then  was  a 
sign  of  patriotism  or  of  piety.  The  emancipation  of  the 
Jews  wherever  it  took  place  was  the  unmistakable  sign  that 
the  spirit  of  genuine  liberty  had  taken  hold  of  the  heart 
of  man.  Thus  the  remembrance  of  our  liberation  becomes 
a  source  of  joy  for  the  friend  of  humanity,  as  it  proclaims 
the  old  Jewish  principle  so  ardently  sought  by  the  best  and 
noblest  minds  :  "  One  law  and  one  right  for  all,  liberty  for 
every  individual ! " 

Israelites,  do  you  know    the   importance  of  the   ancient 
symbol  that  is  to  remind  us  of  the  bitter,  cruel  experiences 
we  have  undergone  in  history?     It  is  the  symbol  of  progress 
that  leads  up  from  the  dark  time  of  despotism,  of  spiritual 
and  bodily  bondage,  to  the  bright,  luminous  day  of  freedom 
and  tolerance,  of  equal  rights  and  equal  duties,  of  mutual 
respect  and  mutual  assistance^  the  time  when  man  is  weighed 
by  his  worth  and  not  by  his  creed,  when  he  is  esteemed  for 
his  love  to  all  and  not  for  his  hatred  against  a  helpless  class 
of  people.     Rejoice,  Israel,  on  your  festival  of  liberty  when 
you  recall  the  memories,  the  long  and  dreary  way  you  have 
traveled  ;  it  was  the  way  to  freedom,  not  for  yourself  alone, 
but  for  humanity.     Kejoice  in  this   time  of  freedom,  when 
the   heart  of  mankind  is   turned   kindly  toward  us,  when 
every  barrier  and  distinction  is  being  broken  and  the  voice 
of  humanity  is  bringing  good  tidings  even  to  those  who  still 
bear  the  yoke  of  intolerance.     But  remember  that  this  joy 
implies    a   sacred    duty,    the    duty   of    showing    yourselves 
worthy  of  this  time  of  liberty.     As  we  have  been  contrib- 
uting toward  the  progress  of  freedom  by  our  suffering  and 
endurance,  so  we  must  contribute  to  its  maintenance^and 


—  183  — 

growth  by  our  activity  and  zeal,  by  our  earnest  participation 
in  everything  that  leads  to  the  emancipation  of  the  spirit 
and  the  spread  of  culture,  so  that  everyone  of  us  may  say 
1*7  'ii  7WV  iiT  "iuya  on  this  account  has  God  done  this  to  me 
when  he  liberated  me  from  Egypt. 

Let  us  rejoice  and  offer  thanks  to  God  on  this  day,  when 
the  signs  of  nature  and  the  symbols  of  the  past  recall  to  our 
minds  the  wonderful  doings  of  God,  for  we  see  that  he  is 
guiding  us,  through  our  hearts'  experience,  to  the  knowledge 
of  his  protection;  through  our  minds'  endeavors  to  the 
acquisition  of  truth ;  and  through  tyranny  and  oppression 
to  freedom  and  joy. 

Thank  the  Lord,  for  he  is  good,  his  kindness  endureth 
forever.  He  leads  mankind  onward  and  upward  to  higher 
aims;  humanity  is  rising  and  progressing  toward  a  nobler 
and  better  state,  its  symbol  is  the  spring-time,  the  everlasting 
regeneration  of  nature.     Amen. 


MEN  MORE  INSTRUCTIVE  THAN  WORDS. 

(Sketch  of  a  Hanukah  Sermon. 


BY  ISAAC  M    WISE. 


,3va  my  hv  "pS  n»t?n 

It  is  reported  in  the  good  book  that  the  Almighty  asked 
Satan,  "  Hast  thou  put  thy  heart  on  my  servant  Job? " 
Satan  evades  the  question,  and  instead  of  an  honest  reply  to  a 
direct  query,  comes  out  with  an  argument  against  Job.  The 
Almighty  had  asked  him,  Hast  thou  put  thy  heart,  hast 
thou  thoroughly  and  impartially  searched  into  the  deeds  and 
motives,  feelings  and  wishes,  sentiments  and  intentions 
of  the  man  Job,  who  is  my  servant,  innocent,  straight- 
forward, God-fearing  and  turning  from  evil?  and  Satan 
behaves  satanically,  telling  him  as  much  as  :  I  do  not  care 
for  that,  I  am  engaged  in  fault-finding,  and  I  will  try. 
Upon  life's  journey  you  will  find  many  such  a  Satan.  The 
better  the  man  the  more  eagerly  will  Satan  scan  his  short- 
comings. 

Perhaps  the  passage  before  us  contains  this  idea :  The 
Almighty  in  his  benignity  asks  Satan,  Hast  thou  put  thy 
heart  on  Job,  that  thou,  admiring  and  truly  appreciating 'a 
good  man,  mightest  be  ennobled  thyself?  But  Satan  feels 
no  such  desire.  He  is  Satan  because  he  is  not  impressed 
with  the  necessity  of  becoming  better,  wiser,  nobler,  more 
enlightened  and  more  generous.  He  sees  not  the  good ;  he 
has  an  eye  for  evil  only,  and  so  is  his  reply  to  the  inquiring 
Deity.  At  any  rate,  these  words  convey  the  beautiful  lesson 
that  in  the  earnest  contemplation  of  great  and  good  men, 
with  their  deeds,  sufferings,  and  triumphs,  there  is  a  more 
instructive  lesson  than  the  savant's  words  can  convey.  It  is 
plastic  speech ;  it  is  dramatic  doctrine ;  it  is  telling. 


—  186  — 

It  is  maintained  in  the  Talmud  that  when  man  after  his 
death  appears  before  the  court  on  high  he  is  asked  the  question 
first,  "  Why  hast  thou  not  engaged  thy  mind  in  the  Law? 
Why  didst  thou  not  pay  more  attention  to  divine  lessons,  to 
moral  and  intellectual  improvement?"    If  one  then  answers, 
I  was  too  beautiful,  hence  too   much  exposed   to   worldly 
allurements,   too   much  engaged  in  dressing  and  pleasure- 
seeking,   in   balls,   theaters,   operas,   concerts,    calling   and 
receiving   calls;  he   (or  she)  will   be   answered,  Thou   wast 
not  more  beautiful   than  Joseph,  the  son  of   the  beautiful 
Rachel,  who  withstood  all  the   allurements   and  remained 
faithful  to  the  God  of  his  fathers,  the    sacred  cause  of  his 
race,  the  teaching  of  his  venerable  sire.     If  one  shall  answer, 
I  was  too  poor,  I  had  to  work  to  earn  my  daily  bread  to  sup- 
port my  family,  I  had  to  work  also  on  the  Sabbath  and 
holidays  in  order  to  earn  a  livelihood — and  you  know  there 
are  such  men  in  this  world — then  he  (or  she)  will  be  told, 
Thou  wast  no  poorer  than  Hillel,  who  split  wood  for  a  liveli- 
hood in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  yet  did  he  appropriate  half 
of  his  wages  to  pay  the  door-keeper  at  the  academy  in  order 
to  gain  admission  and  to  hear  honored  sages  expound  the 
Law.     If  one  shall  answer,  I  was  too  rich,  too  much  engaged 
in  business  and  speculations,  the  rise  and  decline  of  prices 
and  stocks,  higher  and  lower  percentages,   I  had  no  time 
to   attend  to  ideal  affairs  when  the  reality  of  materialism 
engulfed    my    whole  life,    he    (or    she)   will   be    answered, 
Thou  wast  not  richer   than   Eliezer   b.   Harsum,  the   high- 
priest,  who  succeeded  his  brother   Simon  the  Just ;  he  had 
sixty  cities  on  land  and  sixty  ships  on  the  seas,  and  yet  he 
was  always  engaged  in  the  study  of  the  divine  Law,  in  moral 
and  intellectual  advancement. 

The  author  of  this  beautiful  parable  quotes  no  words ;  he 
quotes  men,  more  instructive  than  words.  The  mind  more 
easily  retains  and  actualizes  such  noble  types  as  Joseph, 
Hillel  and  Eliezer  than  it  can  the  book  of  impressive 
lessons  which  these  names  suggest.  By  admirable  deeds 
the  heart  of  man  is  moved  to  admiration;  the  sublime 
in  the  human    character    moves    man  and  child  to  vener- 


—  187  — 

ation.  This  admiration  and  this  veneration  are  the  best 
teachers  of  morals,  the  most  efficient  preachers  of  religion. 
It  is  the  greatness  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  and  many 
other  chapters  of  the  Bible,  that  it  teaches  its  lessons  by 
classical  human  figures,  in  plastic  and  dramatic  language. 
This  method  was  imitated  by  the  rabbis  of  old  in  their  par- 
ables and  allegories,  the  teaching  of  men  instead  of  words, 
of  deeds  instead  of  sounds.  The  most  useful  reading  for 
the  purpose  of  self-culture  is  history  and  biography,  if  one 
understands  how  to  put  his  mind  and  heart  into  the  great 
traits  in  the  characters  of  great  men ;  and  this  it  was  which 
the  Almighty  asked  Satan,  "  Hast  thou  put  thy  heart  upon 
my  servant  Job?"  and  Satan  said  no,  as  do  many  human 
beings,  who  have  eyes  and  see  not  the  good,  the  beautiful, 
the  sublime,  the  imperishable  and  eternal. 

As  this  is  Sabbath  Hanukah,  says  the  man  at  our  elbow,  we 
will  be  told  again  the  old  story  about  Antiochus  Epiphanes 
and  his  edict  to  make  an  end  of  Judaism,  the  heroic  suffer- 
ing of  pious  Hassidim,  old  Eleasar,  Hannah  and  her  seven 
sons,  and  the  other  martyrs ;  the  heroism  of  old  Mattathia  and 
his  compatriots,  of  Judah  Maccabee  and  his  valiant  brothers, 
the  battles  fought,  the  victories  won,  the  temple  and  its  ser- 
vice restored,  the  lamps  lit — old  stories  so  often  told,  so 
commonly  known,  known  to  the  children,  it  is  of  no  use  to 
repeat  them.  Friend,  we  reply  3VK  nny  ?y  "p?  nDB>!%  "  Hast 
thou  put  thy  heart  on  my  servant  Job?"  Have  you  ever 
sufficiently  contemplated,  admired  and  venerated  those 
ancient  classical  figures  which  look  like  lofty  snow-capped 
mountains,  swimming  in  an  endless  sea  of  mist?  If  you 
have  indeed  contemplated  them  sufficiently,  then  you  can 
not  help  seeking  their  company  again  and  again.  The  man 
who  has  gone  one  hundred  and  three  times  to  see  Shake- 
speare's "  Hamlet  "  gave  us  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  this 
extravagance  :  "  Did  you  never  have  a  dear  friend  whom  you 
heartily  admired  and  loved?  "  said  he.  "  Well,  then,  did  you 
ever  get  tired  of  that  friend's  company?  Did  you  not  rather 
yearn  to  meet  him  again  when  he  was  absent?  Were  you 
not  glad  to  welcome  him  home  after  a  long  journey?    Did 


—  188  — 

it  not  do  your  heart  good  to  hear  him  tell  his  story?  Well, 
then,"  said  he,  u  I  love  and  admire  '  Hamlet ' ;  I  have  put  my 
heart  in  his  excellencies,  and  could  go  and  see  him  many 
hundred  times  more,  especially  as  the  world  around  me 
shows  so  many  commonplace  people." 

Alas !  the  man  may  be  right,  for  we  have  often  done  so 
ourselves.  When  we  see  so  many  people  creep  and  crawl 
along  in  the  dust  with  their  heads  scarcely  above  it,  creep- 
ing and  crawling  along  so  cunningly,  so  hurriedly,  without 
leaving  their  resting  points,  so  sagaciously,  without  thought 
or  consideration,  and  so  busily  without  doing  anything; 
when  we  see  so  many  ants  rolling  a  grain  of  wheat  and  then 
fighting  over  its  possession ;  ever  so  many  frogs  leaping 
lustily  in  and  out  of  stagnant,  green  swamps  and  croaking  as 
though  they  had  conquered  a  world  or  solved  the  mysteries 
of  existence;  when  then  misanthropy  chilling  and  stinging, 
threatens  to  beleaguer  the  heart,  and  Satan  whispers  into 
one's  ear  the  whole  family  of  homo  is  not  worth  an  honest 
man's  day's  work  or  a  sleepless  night,  what  then?  Are  there 
not,  must  there  not  be  thinking  men  to  whom  sometimes 
thoughts  like  these  occur?  What  then?  Then  we  hurry  to 
our  library,  close  the  door  behind  us,  and  take  from  the 
shelf  the  Bible,  Josephus,  the  old  Zemach  David,  the  Talmud, 
or  the  dust-covered  Yuchasin,  to  read  the  stories  of  great 
men.  Plutarch,  yes,  old  Plutarch,  we  take  from  the 
shelf  to  converse  with  great  men,  towering  among  these 
human  ants ;  and  old  Ossian  must  sing  his  songs  to  the 
music  of  David's  harp.  Then  the  room  fills  with  a  stately 
procession  of  classical  and  sublime  figures,  who  sing  the 
songs  of  seraphic  fire  and  speak  of  heavenly  wisdom  and 
celestial  beauty.  Then  they  move  along  with  psalmody  and 
hallelujah,  with  psalteries  and  timbrels,  and  you  move 
along  with  them,  and  the  heart  is  healed,  and  the  mind  is 
refreshed,  and  love  to  God  and  men  returns,  admiration 
and  veneration  lift  you  up  on  mighty  pinions  and  you 
behold  God's  eternal  wisdom  and  goodness  manifested  in 
human  nature.     Thank    Heaven  that  there  is  ,"a  past,  and 


—  189  — 

that  there  are  great  men  in  the  past  to  refresh  and  to  elevate 
the  present  generation. 

Therefore  we  ask  once  more,  "  Hast  thou  put  thy  heart 
upon  my  servant  Job?"  Have  you  put  your  hearts  upon 
those  sublime  figures  of  Mattathia,  his  five  heroic  sons  and 
their  valiant  compatriots?  Have  you  contemplated  the 
patriotism,  the  holy  zeal,  the  divine  enthusiasm,  the  death- 
less love  to  God,  to  Israel,  to  God's  law  and  God's  truth, 
which  distinguished  those  men?  Have  you  caught  fire  from 
their  fire,  sparks  flying  from  the  ancient  rocks?  Have  you 
sufficiently  admired  and  venerated  them  to  become  like 
them?  If  you  have  not,  they  ought  to  be  reproduced  a 
thousand  times  before  the  feeble  memory  of  this  lazy-busy  gen- 
eration, till  the  lethargy  and  indifferentism  of  the  masses  be 
overwhelmed,  and  the  spirit  enliven  these  dead  and  bleached 
bones.  If  you  have,  then  their  company  must  be  wel- 
come, a  thousand  times  welcome,  to  you,  those  old  friends 
of  humanity,  those  glory-crowned  children  of  the  Living 
God,  those  brilliant  diadems  upon  the  head  of  the  human 
family.  You  must  be  desirous  of  seeing  "  Hamlet  "  a  hun- 
dred and  three  times. 

Perhaps  we  have  forgotten  that  not  all  men  like  good 
company,  but  we  speak  to  those  who  do.  Perhaps  not  all 
men  wish  to  be  instructed,  but  we  address  those  who  seek 
divine  lessons,  search  after  truth,  and  wish  to  improve  and 
advance ;  to  those  who  want  to  have  a  satisfactory  reply  to 
make  when  they  appear  before  the  court  on  high.  To  them 
we  say,  "  Men  are  more  instructive  than  words."      Amen. 


ISRAEL'S  INFLUENCE  ON  CIVILIZATION. 


A  SERMON 


BY  REV.  DR.  FALK  VIDAVER. 

(Of  Evansville,  Ind.) 


Text:— "Look  unto  Abraham,  your  father,  and  unto  Sarah  that  bore  you;  for 
he  was  one  when  I  called  him,  and  I  blessed  him,  and  I  increased  him."— Isaiah 
li.  2. 

There  is  an  old  Talmudical  saying  D^nS  p'D  mnan 
u  Parents  are  a  pattern  to  their  children.  Indeed,  nothing 
leaves  as  indelible  an  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the 
child  as  the  deportment  of  its  parents.  There  may  be  some 
exceptions  to  this  rule,  yet  in  the  majority  of  cases  you  will 
find  that  sons  and  daughters  take  after  their  fathers  and 
mothers  with  regard  to  virtue,  modesty  and  respectability. 
And  not  only  do  the  open  conduct  and  action  of  the  parents 
impress  themselves  upon  their  children's  minds  and  con- 
tribute to  the  formation  of  their  characters,  but  also  the 
inner  passion  and  hidden  proclivities  and  propensities 
of  father  and  mother  are  generally  propagated  to  their 
offspring.  Therefore,  if  you  are  desirous  of  discovering  the 
primitive  source  of  the  good  or  ill-behavior  of  individuals, 
scrutinize  closely  the  life  of  their  parents.  Such,  my  friends, 
is  also  the  case  with  a  whole  nation,  the  character  of  which 
is  generally  moulded  by  that  of  its  first  parent. 

Cast  a  look  upon  Israel,  whose  father  was  Abraham,  as 
the  prophet  in  our  text  exclaims :  "  Look  unto  Abraham, 
your  father,"  and,  as  his  name  in  Hebrew  signifies  a  father 
of  a  great  nation,  you  will  be  fully  convinced  of  the  truth 
of  my  assertion.  Like  a  golden  thread  does  Abraham's 
character  run  through  Israel's  life.  Let  us  see  what  were 
the  distinguished  traits  in  the  patriarch's  character.     Our 


—  192  - 

wise  rabbis  remark  '"Dl  mitt  n>,£he  who  has  a  kind,  good  and 
pleasing  aspect,  an  humble  spirit  and  contented  soul,  is  a 
disciple  of  Abraham.  That  the  patriarch  had  a  pleasing 
aspect  and  was  good  and  kind  to  all,  we  may  infer  from  the 
Scriptures,  which  tells  us  the  story  of  the  three  strangers 
that  visited  Abraham.  This  story  gives  us  an  idea  of  the 
patriarch's  kindness  and  benevolence,  how  he  was  devoted 
to  the  cause  of  humanity,  that  even  when  feeling  indisposed 
he  could  not  rest  without  extending  a  helping  hand  to  the 
poor,  and  therefore  he  placed  himself  at  the  door  of  his 
tent  in  order  to  offer  his  hospitality  to  the  weary  wayfarer. 
The  disciple  of  Abraham  does,  therefore,  bestow  charity 
upon  the  poor  without  any  distinction  of  nationality,  religion 
or  race;  he  breaks  his  bread  with  hungry  people  without 
searching  into  their  nature  and  character.  That  Abraham 
was  humble  and  meek,  we  learn  from  the  Scriptures,  which 
relate  that  Anar,  Eshkol  and  Mamre,  three  idolaters,  were 
intimate  friends  of  the  patriarch.  In  spite  of  Abraham  being 
a  chosen  servant  of  the  Most  High,  he  did  not  feel  proud  and 
haughty,  nor  did  he  look  with  contempt  upon  others  who 
held  different  religious  views  and  who  did  not  recognize  his 
God.  The  disciple  of  Abraham  does,  therefore,  love,  honor  and 
respect  his  fellow-men,  not  because  of  their  piety,  or  because 
of  their  concurring  in  his  religious -opinion,  but  because  they 
are  human  beings,  created  in  the  Lord's  image.  That  Abraham 
had  a  contented  soul  we  conclude  from  the  fact  the  Scrip- 
tures speak  of,  namely,  that  he  refused  the  invitation  of  the 
King  of  Sodom  to  share  in  the  spoil  which  he  took  in  the 
battle  which  he  fought  against  the  kings  for  the  liberation 
of  his  nephew,  Lot.  The  disciple  of  Abraham  does,  there- 
fore, never  covet  the  possessions  of  his  neighbor,  and  never 
questions  the  will  of  God,  nor  asks  why  others  are  richer 
than  himself,  but  feels  satisfied  with  the  share  that  has 
fallen  to  his  lot,  and  rejoiceth  in  the  least  which  he  receives 
at  the  hands  of  his  Creator. 

Now,  my  friends,  as  the  patriarch  possessed  the  afore- 
mentioned three  noble  qualities,  who  would  be  justified  in 
maintaining  that  Abraham  can  not  be  put  up  as  our  model 


—  193  — 

and  pattern  because  he  lived  in  an  ignorant  age  and  he 
himself  was  not  irradiated  with  the  light  of  civilization? 
And  yet  such  an  assertion  is  being  made  in  our  present  day. 
But  how  unjust,  how  perverted,  how  illogical  is  such  an 
assertion  !  It  is  true  that  Abraham,  as  well  as  all  great  men 
of  the  biblical  age,  lacked  a  knowledge  of  geography,  physi- 
ology, astronomy,  and  all  other  modern  sciences;  those 
people  were  no  philosophers  or  merchants,  but  husbandmen 
and  shepherds.  Yet  I  am  sure  that  you  will  acknowledge 
that  neither  geography,  nor  botany,  nor  any  other  natural 
science  constitutes  civilization.  One's  mind  may  be  enriched 
with  deep  erudition,  his  body  may  be  adorned  with  elegant 
and  costly  attire,  yet  with  regard  to  manners  and  deportment 
toward  his  fellow-men,  he  may  not  be  superior  to  a  savage ; 
while  on  the  other  hand  again,  one  may  be  ignorant  of  nat- 
ural sciences,  yet  his  own  nature  may  be  noble,  he  may  be 
clothed  in  rags,  yet  beneath  those  rags  there  may  be  a  large 
heart  throbbing  with  the  pulsation  of  love  and  sympathy 
toward  his  fellow-men.  Now,  my  friends,  which  of  those 
two  would  you  call  civilized?  Surely  the  latter  and  not  the 
former.  Civilization  is  synonymous  with  refinement,  and 
does  not  consist  in  the  acquisition  of  learning,  but  in  the 
realization  of  good  and  humane  deeds,  in  being  just,  upright, 
charitable  and  benevolent.  Science  as  well  as  religion  is 
but  the  means  whereby  to  attain  civilization.  Abraham, 
therefore,  did  reach  the  acme  of  civilization,  because  he  was 
kind  to  all,  an  humble  spirit  and  a  contented  soul,  and 
to  be  so  is  to  have  scaled  the  summit  of  humanity  and 
gentleness. 

We  may,  therefore,  assert  that  Israel  was  the  first  civilized 
nation  in  the  world,  for  the  noble  qualities  of  Abraham  were 
implanted  in  the  hearts  of  his  posterity.  Like  Abraham  did 
Israel  enter  into  the  world  with  n^D  py  pleasing  aspect,  yes, 
with  a  mission  to  bestow  spiritual  charity  upon  the  nations, 
to  endow  them  with  a  religion  of  truth,  with  the  idea  of  the 
Lord's  unity,  aad  thereby  to  dispel  from  their  life's  horizon 
all  mists  of  savagery  and  fanaticism,  and  to  kindle  in  their 


—  194  — 

midst  the  refulgent  light  of  true  civilization.  But  alas ! 
Israel's  calling  met  with  strong  opposition  ;  many  obstacles 
and  impediments  were  interposed  in  his  way,  many  plots 
were  hatched  in  the  dark  against  his  security.  This  Bible, 
which  contains  a  treasure  of  godly  teachings  and  edify- 
ing principles,  which  Israel  brought  to  the  nations,  was 
maltreated  by  them  ;  the  truthful  lessons  which  it  contains 
were  perverted  and  misconstrued,  and  conclusions  were 
drawn  from  them  tending  toward  Israel's  injury  and 
destruction.  The  Romans  and  Greeks,  in  spite  of  the  rapid 
strides  with-  which  they  marched  on  in  the  field  of  art  and 
philosophy,  lacked  the  spirit  of  humanity,  the  knowledge 
of  refinement ;  they  were  unconscious  of  the  intrinsic  worth 
of  man,  because  they  believed  not  in  the  great  God,  the 
Creator  of  man ;  they  were  a  sensual,  material  people,  hence 
they  persecuted  Israel,  in  whom  they  found  a  people  that 
placed  spirituality  above  materialism,  and  whose  life  and 
works  were  devoted  to  an  ideal,  namely,  to  their  Heavenly 
Father. 

Israel,  like  Abraham,  was  humble  and  meek.  Israel's 
motto  was  0*6^  peace.  Peace  in  his  own  midst,  and  peace 
unto  the  nations.  And  thus  did  Israel  settle  in  his  land 
with  desire  to  dwell  therein  peaceably,  quietly  and  undis- 
turbed. But  soon  the  nations  invaded  his  land,  twice 
destroyed  it,  and  robbed  him  of  his  possessions,  and  left 
him  homeless  and  forsaken.  Yet  he  did  not  despair  and 
abandon  his  hope  and  trust  in  God  and  in  a  better  future. 
Israel  was  also  endowed  with  the  great  virtue  of  content- 
ment, and  therefore  he  felt  satisfied  with  the  little  that  was 
left  to  him,  as  long  as  he  could  pursue  his  avocation,  namely, 
to  foster  faith  and  belief  in  the  Almighty  and  to  realize  the 
noble  qualities  which  he  had  inherited  from  Abraham.  By  so 
doing  did  Israel  indirectly  and  unobtrusively  contribute  to 
the  civilization  of  mankind.  And  indeed,  after  innumerable 
tribulations  and  trials,  Israel  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
his  God  and  his  Bible  taken  up  by  the  nations  as  objects 
of  worship  and  respect.    Israel  saw  millions  of  people  recog- 


—  195  — 

nizing  the  God  of  Abraham  and  acknowledging  the  worth 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  thus  could  Israel  rightly  expect 
a  different  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  nations.  But  Israel 
was  sorely  disappointed  in  his  expectations,  for  the  idea 
of  God  as  well  as  the  spirit  of  the  Scriptures  were  not  per- 
ceived by  the  nations  in  a  pure  and  correct  sense.  Instead 
of  an  incomprehensible  and  invisible  Creator  of  the  universe, 
instead  of  the  God  of  the  decalogue,  an  incarnated  Deity 
was  invented,  and  instead  of  the  wholesome  book  of  the 
Scriptures  other  books  became  the  guiding  stars  of  the 
nations. 

These  new  inventions,  of  course,  did  not  fall  short  of  their 
object.  They  blinded  the  eyes  of  the  nations,  so  that  they 
regarded  the  darkness  of  superstition  and  ignorance  as  the 
light  of  a  true  civilization.  They  boasted  of  possessing  a 
religion  of  love,  but  in  the  name  of  that  religion  the  most 
cruel  and  atrocious  acts  were  perpetrated.  Inhumanity, 
injustice  and  all  kinds  of  evil  were  concealed  under  the 
cloak  of  that  pretended  religion  of  love.  Israel,  as  a  matter 
of  course,  could  not  be  considered  the  parent,  the  originator 
of  such  a  religion,  since  Judaism  distinctly  prohibits  the 
bearing  of  suspicion  and  hatred  against  one  another,  and 
impresses  upon  our  minds  to  "  love  our  neighbor  as  our- 
selves "  and  the  word  neighbor  implies  every  human  being. 
Israel,  therefore,  fell  a  victim  to  the  nations'  rage  and 
groundless  animosity,  because  they  considered  him  a  ren- 
egade, denying  the  truth  of  their  religious  principles ;  yet 
did  Israel  never  cease  to  foster  the  noble  qualities  of  Abraham 
and  to  look  upon  the  patriarch  as  a  model.  While  the  nations 
rejoiced  in  barbarism,  Israel,  although  having  been  secluded 
and  immured  in  ghettos,  practiced  humanity  and  utilized 
the  great  virtues  bequeathed  unto  him  by  Abraham.  It  was 
but  toward  the  fifteenth  centuiy  that  science  began  to 
accomplish  that  wmich  the  religion  of  the  nations  could 
not  accomplish.  Science  began  to  break  the  ice  of  civiliza- 
tion. The  nations  then  began  to  arrive  at  the  acknowl- 
edgment that  the  virtue  of  love,  which  they  considered  the 


—  106  — 

basis  of  their  religion,  was  adopted  from  Judaism.  And  this 
word  love,  in  its  original  sense,  expresses  the  noble  quality 
of  Abraham,  namely  nilD  py  a  good  aspect,  yes,  kindness 
to  all.  The  nations  since  then  have  begun  to  appreciate 
Israel's  worth,  to  recognize  his  merits,  and  to  grant  him  civil 
rights  and  liberty.  And  if  in  our  present  enlightened  age, 
in  some  places  in  the  old  country  individuals  like  Treitschke 
and  Stoecker,  and  their  equals,  exhibit  hatred  and  enmity 
against  Israel,  we  need  not  wonder  at  all,  for  these  individ- 
uals have  not  yet  emerged  from  their  old  state  of  savagery, 
they  are  not  irradiated  yet  with  the  light  of  true  civilization; 
their  actions  and.  thoughts  are  in  conflict  with  the  religion 
of  love  which  they  profess.  These  enemies  of  Israel  revive 
old  complaints  against  the  Jewish  people.  The  Talmud, 
they  say,  contains  places  which  speak  disparagingly  of  non- 
Israelites.  This  is  true.  But  these  places  in  the  Talmud 
are  to  Israel  now  a  dead  letter ;  and  again  it  would  be  unjust 
to  blame  the  child  for  the  wrong  actions  of  its  parents. 
And,  apart  from  all  this,  we  could  easily  justiy  those  afore- 
mentioned places  in  the  Talmud,  if  we  considered  the  age 
in  which  and  the  people  among  whom  they  were  written. 
They  were  written  against  the  Romans,  the  destroyers  and 
degraders  of  Israel.  Shakespeare  was  right  in  putting  in 
Shylock's  mouth  the  words :  "  If  you  prick  us  do  we  not 
bleed?  if  you  tickle  us  do  we  not  laugh?  if  you  poison  us 
do  we  not  die?  and  if  you  wrong  us  shall  we  not  revenge?  '' 
Indeed,  our  wise  rabbis  only  revenged  themselves  on  their 
enemies  in  uttering  against  them  sentences  of  reproach  and 
disgrace.  Israel's  enemies  of  our  present  day  do  further 
complain  that  the  world  is  becoming  Judaized.  To  this  I 
would  answer,  in  the  words  Of  Lessing's  "  Nathan  the  Wise," 
when  the  cloister  brother  says  to  Nathan,  "  You  are  a  Chris- 
tian," Nathan  rejoineth  :  "  Happy  are  we  indeed,  for  the  very 
same  qualifications  which  make  of  me  a  Christian  in  your 
eyes  make  of  you  a  Jew  in  my  eyes."  The  world  become 
Judaized  !  Would  that  all  human  beings  emulated  Jewish 
charity,  Jewish  benevolence,  Jewish  true  faith  and  belief  in 
One   God.     Would  that  they  strove   to  realize    the   great 


—  197  — 

virtues  of  Abraham.  They  could  then  boast  of  being  good 
Christians.  We  would  not  then  hear  of  persecution  and 
hatred  against  any  human  being,  love  would  reign  supreme 
among  the  family  of  man,  and  every  one  would  look  to 
Abraham  and  follow  in  his  footsteps  and  become  a  blessing 
to  mankind.     Amen. 


HEBREW  MONOTHEISM. 


A  DEDICATION  SERMON. 


BY  ISAAC  M.  WISE. 


u  Hear,  0  Israel,  God  is  our  Lord,  God  is  One."  These 
are  the  mysterious  words  which  accompany  every  son  and 
every  daughter  in  Israel,  from  the  first  dawn  of  cognition 
to  the  last  breath  of  life.  It  is  the  first  lesson  which  the 
mother  teaches  her  child,  and  the  last  farewell  addressed 
to  the  departing  soul  by  surviving  friends.  Like  the  atmos- 
pheric element,  always  and  everywhere,  these  solemn  words 
went  with  Israel  from  yonder  wilderness  of  Sinai,  through 
all  ages  and  climes,  all  revolutions  and  changes,  to  this  very 
da}7-  and  place ;  to  every  place  where  Israel  has  found  a  home. 
These  words  are  older  than  Moses,  the  Talmud  maintains. 
The  sons  of  Jacob  addressed  them  to  their  father  in  his 
dying  hour,  as  a  solemn  vow  of  fidelity  to  the  one  eternal 
and  sole  God. 

I  call  these  solemn  words  mysterious,  not  only  because 
they  contain  the  mystery  of  all  mysteries,  the  sole  contents 
of  absolute  truth,  reason's  grandest  theme,  ethics''  primeval  rock, 
and  man's  most  sacred  hope  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  as  I 
shall  attempt  to  expound ;  but  also  on  account  of  their  mar- 
velous effect  upon  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  Hebrew.  Young 
or  old,  religious  or  frivolous,  learned  or  illiterate,  living  or 
dying,  you  address  to  him  these  wonderful  words,  and  they 
sound  to  him  like  a  solemn  admonition  from  on  high,  like 
the  fresh  element  of  vitality  poured  into  his  veins,  like 
angels'  salutation,  like  eternal  melodies  from  the  Rock  of 
•Ages. 


—  200  - 

Therefore,  brethren,  on  this  gala-day  of  the  Congregation 
Anshe  Chesed,  when  we  are  assembled  to  dedicate  this  mag- 
nificent sanctuary  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  promulgation 
of  eternal  truth  and  divine  light,  to  invoke  the  blessings 
of  the  Almighty  upon  this  new  monument  of  piety,  this  con- 
gregation, a  faithful  mother  in  Israel  who  has  erected  it,  her 
officers,  committees  and  supporters  who  have  sacrificed  time 
and  treasure  so  profusely  to  rear  and  embellish  this  gorgeous 
temple,  the  artists  and  artisans  who  have  accomplished  it, 
and  all  the  brethren  and  friends  who  have  come  to  worship 
and  rejoice  over  it, — on  this  solemn  occasion,  let  us  expound 
and  pronounce  over  this  temple  and  congregation  the  solemn 
words,  "Hear,  0  Israel,  God  is  our  Lord,  God  is  One." 
May  they  be  deeply  impressed  on  every  heart,  and  engraved 
on  every  stone  in  this  structure — may  they  permeate  the 
very  atmosphere  of  this  santuary  forever  and  aye.     Amen. 

I  have  said  the  sublime  words  of  our  text  contain  the 
mystery  of  all  mysteries,  the  sole  contents  of  absolute  truth 
and 

I. 
reason's  grandest  theme. 

Let  us  first  investigate  this  point.  God  is  the  most 
sublime  word  to  be  a  proper  equivalent  of  the  ineffable 
name  of  four  letters,  which,  in  Hebrew,  represent  the  Great 
I  Am,  being,  essence  and  substance,  without  limitation,  the 
cause  and  substance  of  all  that  is,  was,  or  will  be,  the  life,  love, 
might  and  intelligence  of  all  that  lives,  loves  and  thinks,  the 
infinite  goodness,  wisdom,  justice  and  power,  manifested  in 
this  universe  and  far  beyond  all  huuian  conceptions  of  uni- 
verse,— He  who  said,  and  it  was,  who  commanded,  and  there 
it  stood.  So  Moses  and  the  prophets,  Talmudists  and  phi- 
losophers, all  great  teachers  in  Israel,  knew  and  understood 
the  inscrutable  and  ineffable  Adonoi.  This  is  absolute  truth, 
and  the  foundation  of  all  derivative  verities,  as  far  as  con- 
ceivable to  the  human  mind. 

Reason  has  no  means  to  proceed  beyond  the  Great  I  Am. 
Here  is  the  universe,  mutable  and  perishable  in  all  its  phe- 


—  201 


nomenal  parts.  The  mutable  can  not  exist  without  the 
immutable;  the  perishable  must  rise  from  the  fountain 
of  the  eternal ;  the  universe  must  be  the  revelation  of  the 
immutable  and  eternal  God.  No  waves  without  ocean,  no 
finite  beings  without  the  Infinite,  no  universe  without  God, 
none  of  which  can  be  either  thought  or  imagined. 

Again  :  here  is  the  universe  with  its  hostile  forces,  crossing 
orbits,  and  perpetual  antitheses  of  functions,  beautifully 
harmonized  in  its  grand  totality,  with  its  co-ordinations 
and  subordinations  of  all  that  is,  real  or  latent,  to  one  sub- 
lime and  unfailing  unit,  in  revelation  of  Him  whom  Job 
calls  "  He  who  maketh  peace  in  his  heavens  high,"  whom 
the  hosts  on  high  glorify,  "  Praise  to  God's  glory  from  his 
place,"  and  of  whom  the  chorus  of  seraphim  sing,  "  Holy, 
holy,  holy,  is  God  Zebaoth,  all  the  earth  is  full  of  his  glory." 
Without  the  one  Almighty  and  All-wise  there  could  be  no 
unity  and  harmony  of  the  universe.  Without  one  God  there 
could  not  be  one  cosmos. 

Furthermore:  Here  I  am,  says  man.  I  live,  I  love,  I 
think,  I  know  that  I  know  and  what  I  know,  and  reason 
on  reason's  functions,  laws  and  substance.  That  which  is 
not  in  the  whole,  can  not  possibly  be  in  any  part  thereof. 
I  am  a  part  of  this  whole,  therefore  it  must  be  life,  love  and 
self-conscious  intelligence,  and  I  am  but  a  miniature  revela- 
tion of  the  Eternal  God,  as  the  ray  is  of  the  sun,  the  drop 
of  the  element  of  water,  the  visible  and  finite  manifestation 
of  the  invisible  and  infinite  Deity. 

And  here  is  the  history  of  man,  and  especially  Israel's 
history,  with  the  hand  of  Providence  perpetually  manifested, 
with  its  ever-revolving  wheel  of  justice,  and  its  triumphal 
car  of  progressive  truth,  light  and  happiness.  And  here  the 
conscience  and  consciousness  of  man  with  his  universal 
knowledge  of  godhead,  to  read  with  reason's  eye  in  con- 
science's depth—"  And  thou  shalt  know  this  day  and  reflect 
in  thy  heart,  that  God  is  the  Lord :  in  heaven  above,  and  on 
earth  below,  there  is  none  besides."  So  we  know  and  under- 
stand and  utter  with  veneration  and  awe,  with  adoration 
and  love,  "  God  is."     I  can  not  see  him,  yet  I  know  him 


—  202  — 

I  can  not  imagine  him,  yet  I  love  him.  I  can  not  compre- 
hend him,  but  I  adore  and  worship  him.  I  can  not  utter  his 
praise,  his  greatness,  his  majesty,  his  glory,  his  unsearchable 
immensity,  but  I  kneel  in  the  dust  and  rise  to  heavens  high, 
knowing  that  he  is,  and  therefore  am  I.  This  is  reason's 
grandest  theme. 

Truly,  this  is  no  God  accommodated  to  the  gross  concep- 
tions of  thoughtless  men  ;  no  God  to  be  located  in  some 
corner  of  the  universe  or  outside  thereof  in  the  realm 
of  imagination.  This  is  the  living  God  of  Israel.  There- 
fore we  say,  "  Hear,  0  Israel."  The  nations,  the  individuals, 
in  fact,  made  their  own  gods.  Therefore,  they  were  ideal 
men  at  best;  oftentimes  fantastic  beasts.  Israel  made  no 
god;  God  made  Israel.  In  Israel,  God's  nature,  law  and 
will  were  manifested  and  made  known  to  the  nation  by  the 
inspired  intelligence  of  her  own  sons ;  therefore,  he  is  called 
the  God  of  Israel,  known,  so  known,  in  Israel  only. 

Therefore,  while  the  nations,  starting  out  from  the  basis 
of  small,  narrow  and  localized  gods,  necessarily  remained 
narrow,  sectional  and  fettered  in  their  ideals  and  principles, 
as  none  excel  their  own  ideal  of  deity,  Israel,  starting  from 
the  broad  principle  of  absolute  truth  embodied  in  the  doc- 
trine of  the  Infinite  Deity,  had  always  the  most  high,  the 
most  sublime  and  universal  before  his  mind,  and  grew  up  in 
the  broad  conception  of  the  God  of  the  universe.  So  all 
conceptions,  ideas,  doctrines,  principles,  hopes  and  expec- 
tations of  the  nation  became  large,  wide,  broad  and  deep, 
sublime  and  divine.  Therefore,  Jews  only  could  write  the 
Bible ;  and  they  only  could  defy  all  revolutions,  outlive  all 
changes,  and  stand  unmoved  at  their  divine  banner.  So 
that  intelligence  was  cultivated  and  enlarged,  so  that  the 
children  in  the  streets  of  Jerusalem  understood  well  what  in 
substance  was  communicated  to  the  select  few  in  the  heathen 
mysteries  and  academies.  So  Israel  preserved  a  deathless 
fidelity  to  God  and  truth.  A  great  God  makes  a  great  people. 
Small  souls  have  miniature  gods.  As  long  as  man  worships 
small  gods,  he  remains  narrow,  fettered,  intolerant  and  fanat- 
ical.    Whenever  all  men  will  worship  the  eternal,  absolute, 


—  203  — 

infinite  and  sole  God,  the  human  family  will  be  redeemed, 
fraternized  and  free,  intelligent,  just  and  liberal.  The  Eternal, 
the  Living  God  of  Israel,  shall  be  enthroned  and  worshiped 
forever  in  our  temples,  as  in  the  tabernacle  of  Moses  and  the 
sanctuary  on  Mount  Moriah.  There  shall  be  nothing  small 
in  our  conceptions,  narrow  in  our  principles,  absurd  in  our 
observances,  superstitious  in  our  beliefs,  illiberal  or  exclu- 
sive in  our  hopes  and  prayers,  where  in  the  name  of  truth 
and  reason,  we  exclaim,  u  Hear,  0  Israel,  God  is  our  Lord, 
God  is  One  !  " 

I  have  also  said  this  is 

II. 


Let  us  explain  this  second  point.  It  is  maintained  that 
monotheism  was  the  theology  of  many  or  all  nations  of 
antiquity.  The  Bible  maintains  :  "  From  the  rising  of  the 
sun  to  the  setting  thereof,  the  name  of  God  is  praised." 
It  maintains  nowhere  that  either  Moses  or  Abraham  invented 
or  discovered  the  great  principle  of  monotheism.  On  the 
contrary,  it  is  maintained  that  God  was  known  to  Noah  and 
to  Adam,  suggesting  that  man's  knowledge  of  the  existence 
of  one  God  is  innate  and  universal,  and  his  desire  to  wor- 
ship him  is  spontaneous.  Error  came  in  the  train  of  cor- 
ruption, in  the  time  of  Enoch  first,  and  in  the  time  of  Nimrod 
later.  One  thing,  however,  is  certain,  if  monotheism  ever 
was  the  theology  of  Gentiles,  this  sacred  heritage  has  been 
preserved  by  the  people  of  Israel.  This  was  sufficient  cause 
for  Israel  to  say,  "  God  is  our  Lord,"  and  to  exclaim,  "  This 
is  my  Lord,  and  I  will  adore  him  :  the  Lord  of  my  fathers 
and  I  will  extol  him." 

There  was  and  is  another  reason  for  this  claim.  It  is  this  : 
The  Bible  teaches  no  revealed  God ;  it  teaches  God  revealed 
in  his  own  works  and  words,  manifested  as  Providence  in  his 
dealings  with  man  and  mankind,  and  as  the  supreme  ideal 
of  moral  perfection.  The  glory  of  God,  or  God  himself,  we 
are  told  was  not  made  known  to  Moses.     He  was  told  :  "  No 


—  204  — 

man  can  see  me  and  live."  God's  ways,  his  mercy,  benevo- 
lence, love  and  grace,  providence,  were  revealed  to  Moses  and 
expounded  by  the  prophets.  God,  as  the  perfect  ideal 
of  morals,  was  made  known  in  Israel.  "  God  is  our  Lord," 
aside  of  all  theocratic  doctrine,  because  his  will  as  mani- 
fested in  his  works  and  words  is  our  law,  our  moral  code, 
prescribing  to  us  how  to  live,  to  be  righteous,  humane,  pious 
and  happy,  here  and  hereafter,  now  and  forever,  in  this  and 
every  other  generation. 

In  this  point  Israel's  theology  and  faith  are  superior  to  all 
religious  systems  known  in  history.  Morality  is  the  offspring 
of  truth.  Corruption  and  degeneration  are  the  children 
of  error  and  fiction.  Truth  redeems  and  unites ;  error 
enslaves  and  sows  discord  among  brethren.  Neither  the  God 
nor  the  gods  of  the  Gentiles  are  represented  as  free,  wise, 
just,  benevolent  and  merciful.  Slavery  and  fatalism  were 
characteristics  of  ail  Pagan  theology ;  because  their  gods 
were  natural  forces  and  natural  objects  deified  and  fantastic- 
ally magnified ;  and  their  one  and  most  high  God  is  an 
abstraction,  a  collective  idea  of  their  gods.  Their  lords  are 
no  God,  but  their  Godjis  an  ideal  abstraction  of  their  lords. 
There  is  no  foundation  of  ethics  in  their  theology.  Neither 
their  God  nor  their  gods  are  types  of  holiness. 

In  Israel,  God  is  and  always  was  the  most  sublime  ideal 
of  moral  perfection.  Our  Elohim  Providence,  our  national 
God,  individual  God,  tutelar  God,  particular  God,  is  the  one 
eternal  and  sole  Deity,  the  Father  and  Ruler  of  all  men, 
the  Preserver  and  Governor  of  the  universe,  and  the  most 
sublime  ideal  of  moral  perfection  ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  that 
the  rabbis  of  the  Talmud  could  teach  that  to  walk  with  God 
or  after  God  signifies  always  attempting  to  imitate  God's 
moral  excellencies,  to  become  wise,  just,  benevolent,  merciful 
and  gracious  as  God  is.  Therefore,  Israel's  theology  and 
faith  are  the  primeval  rock  of  ethics,  and  outside  thereof  no 
religious  system  is  known  whose  votaries  can  look  up  to 
God,  as  they  teach  him,  and  say  we  will  do  as  God  does  in 
order  to  be  righteous,  pious  and  happy.  There  is  moral 
freedom  in  Israel,  because  -God  is  free.     Our  Elohim  is  God 


—  205  — 

himself;  hence  not  the  ruler  of  a  section,  or  the  Father 
of  any  particular  people.  Our  Lord  is  wisdom,  intelligence, 
reason  itself,  hence  demands  not  of  us  that  we  sacrifice  our 
individual  reason  on  the  altar  of  uninquired  faith  in  human 
dogmas.  No  person  in  Israel  can  be  pious  at  the  expense 
of  his  or  her  intelligence,  humanity,  or  morality.  To  be 
pious  signifies  to  be  rational,  wise,  just,  free,  charitable,  hu- 
mane, useful  to  man,  and  a  blessing  to  the  human  family, 
because  so  it  *is  the  will  and  such,  is  the  nature  of  God. 
Therefore,  there  are  in  Israel  equality,  fraternity  and  human- 
ity in  the  name  of  the  Father  of  all.  There  can  be  no 
favored  classes  before  God,  no  blazing  pyres  for  the  infidel, 
no  burning  hell  for  unbelievers,  no  dungeons  and  no  hang- 
men for  theological  sinners.  There  must  be  mercy  for  the 
sufferer,  bread  for  the  hungry,  assistance  to  the  weak,  pro- 
tection to  the  helpless,  forbearance  to  the  sinner,  justice, 
mercy  and  love  to  all.  Therefore,  Israel  preserved  with 
his  religion  also  his  intelligence  and  his  morals  intact,  the 
fraternity  of  all,  and  charity  to  all,  freedom,  justice  and  love 
for  all.  The  Jew  could  not  be  stupidly  pious  and  barbar- 
ously religious,  his  God  being  reason's  grandest  theme,  and  - 
the  primeval  rock  of  the  most  sublime  ethics.  When  we  say, 
"  Hear,  0  Israel,  God  is  our  Lord,"  we  say  it  all :  the  highest 
intelligences,  wisdom,  love,  grace,  justice,  freedom,  humanity 
and  piety,  righteousness  and  philanthropy,  in  the  most  sub- 
lime sense  of  these  terms. 

The  Eternal,  the  benign  Father  of  all  men,  shall  be 
enthroned  and  worshiped  in  this  temple.  There  shall  be 
nothing  selfish  and  sectarian  in  our  worship.  Xo  pious 
criminal,  no  barbarous  bigot,  no  misanthropic  fanatic  shall 
find  shelter  at  the  corners  of  this  altar.  Love,  purity  and 
humanity  shall  be  sanctified  here  before  the  Eternal  God 
who  is  our  Lord;  and  human  nature  shall  be  elevated  to 
the  unselfish  service  of  God  and  man.  Let  us  dedicate  this 
temple  to  God,  reason  and  humanity,  and  it  will  be  a  sanc- 
tuary in  Israel. 

I  have  said,  lastly,  this  is 


—  206  — 
III. 

man's  most  sacred  hope  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 

Let  us  briefly  expound  this  point.  On  earth  it  is  certainly 
the  highest  hope  of  all  good  men  that  the  most  sublime 
principles  of  ethics  be  victorious  in  all  our  social  and  politi- 
cal relations,  that  truth  be  triumphant,  love  unite  all,  justice 
sway  a  universal  scepter,  and  there  be  no  more  wrong,  suf- 
fering or  misery  on  earth  which  men*  can  prevent  or  heal. 
Brethren,  when  we  utter  the  sublime  words,  "  Hear,  0  Israel, 
God  is  our  Lord,  God  is  One,"  we  take  upon  ourselves  the 
burden  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven — to  obey  the  law  and  will 
of  God,  to  do  as  God  does  in  wisdom,  justice  and  goodness, 
to  love  as  God  loves  all  his  creatures,  and  to  establish  upon 
earth  the  eternal  kingdom  of  righteousness,  freedom,  justice 
and  love.  This  is  certainly  man's  most  sacred  hope  on 
earth.  But  what  has  our  text  to  do  with  man's  eternal  hopes 
in  heaven,  in  life  eternal?  And  it  is  common  in  Israel  to 
repeat  these  sublime  words,  solemnly  and  devoutly,  at  the 
dying  couch  of  the  Hebrew.  Why  is  this?  Every  religious 
Israelite  hopes  to  hear  these  words  in  his  last  hour.  Why  is 
it  so?  The  closing  words  of  our  text,  "God  is  One,"  fully 
reply  to  these  queries. 

"  God  is  One "  signifies,  first,  the  eternal,  absolute  and 
sole  God  and  Israel's  Elohim,  King  and  Ruler,  the  sole  Sov- 
ereign in  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  are  not  two  or  more  gods. 
There  is  but  one  God,  and  none  besides  him.  This  certainly 
is  the  primary  signification  of  the  words,  u  God  is  One." 
It  is  numerically  first. 

But  aside  of  all  other  significations  attaching  to  these 
words,  we  must  emphasize  especially  the  fundamental, 
namely,  "  God  is  One,"  hence  there  can  be  nothing  outside 
of  him.  All  perceptible  and  conceivable  beings  are  in  him 
real  and  formal  ideas,  of  whom  he  only  is  conscious,  as  man's 
ideas  are  actual  in  his  mind.  How  these  infinite  progressions 
of  beings  are  a  unity  in  God,  I  know  not,  but  I  know  that 
they  are  because  they  are  a  harmonious  cosmos.     We  know 


—  207  — 

that  the  progressions  of  ideas  are  a  unity  in  the  human  mind 
although  we  know  not  how. 

Man  is  not  only  in  God,  but  God  is  also  in  him,  for  he  is 
conscious  of  God  and  his  works.  Inasmuch  as  God  is  in 
man,  he  is  "  a  portion  of  the  Deity  from  on  high,"  as  the 
Talmud  has  it,  or  "  the  image  of  God,"  as  the  Bible  ex- 
presses it.  Man  is  a  formal  and  self-conscious  idea  of  the 
Deity.  Self-consciousness  distinguishes  him  from  the  rest 
of  God's  creatures.  The  purer  and  brighter  his  knowledge 
of  God  and  his  will,  and  the  holier  this  consciousness,  the 
purer,  brighter  and  holier  will  be  his  self-consciousness,  and 
in  the  same  ratio  will  he  stand  in  relation  to  God  as  a  self- 
conscious  being.  Therefore,  the  correct  cognition  of  the 
fact,  "  God  is  our  Lord,"  the  thorough  comprehension  of 
truth,  and  the  practice  of  righteousness  as  the  necessary 
sequence  of  this  absolute  truth,  rouse  men  to  self-conscious 
immortality  in  God. 

Self-conscious  immortality  in  God,  I  have  said,  and  I 
repeat  it.  For  God  is  One,  eternal  and  infinite  by  himself, 
subject  to  no  change,  no  increase  or  decrease,  no  growth  and 
no  decline.  He  is,  was,  and  will  ever  be  the  same.  But  God 
is  One,  therefore  all  things  are  immortal  in  him.  Nothing 
can  perish.  Forms  change,  the  substance  remains.  There 
is  no  death,  it  is  all  eternal  birth.  All  things  unconscious 
are  unconsciously  immortal  in  God.  Self-conscious  man 
must  be  self-consciously  immortal  in  the  One  and  Eternal 
God,  as  self-conscious  indeed  as  he  has  become  by  his  self- 
culture  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  the  practice  of  holiness. 
God  is  One,  hence  this  self-consciousness  of  man  is  in  God 
and  of  him,  and  imperishable  as  is  the  One  and  Eternal 
God.  All  of  us  were  in  God  before  we  became  individu- 
alized beings,  and  will  be  in  him  after  the  dust  has  returned 
to  the  dust  and  the  spirit  has  returned  to  the  Lord  who 
gave  it.  This  is  the  signification  of  the  words,  "  God  is 
One;"  and  therefore  we  address  them  so  solemnly  and 
devoutly  to  every  dying  man.  They  contain  man's  highest 
hope  in  heaven  and  on  earth. 

Therefore,  brethren,  when   we  exclaim,  "  Hear,  0  Israel, 


—  208  — 

God  is  our  Lord,  God  is  One,"  we  have  said  all  that  man  can 
know.  Here  is  God  and  eternal  truth,  God  in  his  infinite 
glory  and  majesty,  absolute  truth  in  beautiful  harmony  with 
reason's  loftiest  and  deepest  research.  Here  are  holiness, 
human  perfection  and  happiness,  wisdom,  love,  freedom, 
justice,  humanity  divine  and  divinity  humane,  one  God  and 
one  human  family,  the  primeval  rock  of  all  ethics.  Here 
are  hope  and  consolation,  trust  and  divine  power,  the  highest 
and  holiest  hopes  in  heaven  and  on  earth,  the  eternal  king- 
dom of  heaven. 

Therefore,  with  these  sublime  words  we  dedicate  this 
temple,  consecrate  this  congregation,  and  sanctify  every  soul 
to  the  service  of  God,  truth  and  humanity. 

Lift  up  your  heads,  ye  gates,  and  be  ye  lifted  up,  ye  ever- 
lasting doors,  that  the  King  of  Glory  may  enter  !  Let  us  feel  in 
this  solemn  moment  our  immortal  nature,  the  King  of  Glory 
entering  this  tabernacle  of  flesh  and  blood.  In  this  moment 
of  holy  inspiration,  let  us  feel  our  union  with  God,  and  our 
reunion  with  all  the  good  and  pious  fathers  and  mothers 
who  have  gone  home  to  eternal  life.  Brethren  of  the  Con- 
gregation Anshe  Chesed,  in  this  holy  moment  let  us  remem- 
ber the  founders  of  this  congregation,  who  have  been  called 
away  from  this  earthly  pilgrimage  and  now  rejoice  with 
you  over  your  success,  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the  honor 
of  Israel.  So,  with  holy  feeling;  let  us  dedicate  this  taber- 
nacle to  the  eternal  and  one  God ;  to  the  progress  of  truth, 
freedom,  justice  and  humanity;  to  man's  eternal  hopes;  to 
the  blessing  of  its  founders  ;  to  the  immortal  faith  and  cause 
of  Israel,  with  the  ever  holy  words,  "  God  is  our  Lord,  God 
is  One." 


THE 
MAIN  LESSON  OF  ISRAEL'S  SANCTUARY. 


BY  ISAAC  M.  WISE. 


The  Lord  of  Hosts  may  bless  yon  all 
Assembled  in  this  sacred  hall 

To  seek  your  God  enthroned  above, 
Enthroned  below  in  Israel's  praise, 
In  nature's  light,  in  wisdom's  rays, 

In  souls  inspired  with  fervent  love; 

The  Lord  of  Hosts  console  you  all 
Whose  sighs  and  tears  for  mercy  call 

To  him  who  knows  his  creatures'  woes, 
With  whom  the  good,  the  true  prevails, 
Who  is  our  Rock  that  never  fails, 

The  tree  of  life  that  ever  grows. 

This  house,  0  God,  this  holy  shrine, 
We  reared  to  praise  thy  name  divine, 

Accept  in  grace  and  fill  with  light, 
The  light  of  wisdom,  truth  and  cheer, 
From  heaven  high  to  mortals  near, 

Revealed  for  aye  on  Sinai's  height. 

Give  ear,  O  Lord,  to  our  appeal, 
Respond  with  love,  thy  grace  reveal, 

To  bless  this  house  be  ever  nigh ; 
Let's  feel  thy  love  in  joy  or  grief, 
To  hear  our  thanks  and  grant  relief, 

To  raise  each  soul  to  thee  on  high. 
Amen. 

A  solemn  occasion,  brethren,  convenes  us  in  this  noble 
structure  which  you  have  reared,  a  monument  of  piety  and 
devotion  to  God  and  Israel,  to  beautify  this  city,  to  testify 


—  210  - 

to  your  fidelity  to  the  religion  of  your  fathers,  and  to  con- 
secrate this  particular  spot  to  deathless  truth  and  imperish- 
able hope  from  the  unfailing  fountain  of  Sinai.  And  now 
you  have  come  with  grateful  hearts  to  render  praise  and 
thanksgiving  to  the  Almighty  for  this  signal  success,  inspir- 
ing you  with  holy  joy,  and  to  rejoice  before  the  Lord  over 
your  sacrifices  of  time  and  treasure  cheerfully  made  before 
God  and  to  the  glory  of  his  holy  name.  And  now  you  have 
come  with  impressions  solemn  and  feelings  sublime  to  dedi- 
cate your  beautiful  handiwork  to  the  worship  of  the  Most 
High,  the  promulgation  of  truth,  the  elevation  of  human 
nature,  and  the  perpetuation  of  Israel's  light,  charity  and 
solidarity,  to  extend  over  the  entire  family  of  man.  It  is  a 
solemn  occasion,  indeed,  and  we  feel  that  it  is. 


Among  all  the  holy  edifices  of  the  past  and  present,  none 
is  as  wonderful  and  marvelous,  as  suggestive  of  lessons 
most  sublime  and  verities  truly  divine,  as  is  the  temple 
of  Israel.  Its  history  is  a  broad  streak  of  light  across  the 
entire  horizon  of  human  knowledge,  from  the  first  records 
to  this  present  moment,  telling  with  irresistible  force  there 
is  an  Almighty  Providence  preserving  and  governing  this 
human  family.  The  flame  of  its  perpetual  lamp,  from  which 
all  religious  lights  in  the  civilized  world  have  been  lit,  the 
lamp  never  extinguished,  the  light  never  obscured,  teaches 
the  self-sustaining  and  indestructible  vitality  and  energy 
of  truth,  whose  growth,  advancement,  progression  and  final 
triumph  no  power  on  earth  can  prevent  or  restrict;  for  truth 
is  God's  and  God  is  omnipotent.  The  tenacity,  consistency 
and  unshaken  fidelity  of  its  congregation  under  the  sorest 
of  trials  and  bloodiest  of  afflictions  prove  that  man  is  not 
the  lord  of  truth,  but  truth  holds  dominion  over  him;  he 
must  obey  its  behests,  mu-t  bear  and  promulgate  it  in  spite 
of  sufferings  and  afflictions,  of  misery  and  death.  Such  is 
human  nature,  such  are  the  decrees  of  Providence.  Most 
wonderful,  probably,  and  most  suggestive,  is  the  inscription 
noon  the  keystone  of  Israel's  temple,  which  all  philosophers 


—  211  — 

must  indorse,  all  religions  must  adopt,  all  codes  of  ethics 
must  confirm.  There  are  two  gorgeous  pillars  upon  which 
Israel's  divine  structure  rests;  the  one  is,  "  Hear,  0  Israel, 
( rod  is  our  Lord,  God  is  One,"  and  the  other  is  the  command- 
ment, "  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Upon 
these  two  pillars  the  arch  of  perfection  in  its  pristine  beauty 
rests,  the  divine  law,  concerning  which  the  Psalmist  said  : 
"The  law  of  God  is  perfect."  Upon  the  keystone  of  that 
arch,  in  bold  relief,  in  indelible  characters,  is  the  sublime 
inscription:  "And  thou  shalt  love  God,  thy  Lord,  with  all 
thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  might."  This 
contains  all  which  true  religion  and  philosophy,  all  human 
codes  of  laws  and  ethics  have  ever  said  and  will  say  in  all 
eternity. 

This  motto  on  our  keystone,  in  the  first  place,  points 
heavenward,  not  to  a  God,  but  to  the  God,  the  only  and  sole 
God,  the  cause  of  all  causes,  the  force  of  all  forces,  the 
Almighty,  who  is  the  intelligence,  life  and  love  of  the  uni- 
verse, whose  wisdom  and  freedom  are  manifest  in  this 
cosmos,  with  its  beautiful  order  and  harmony,  and  whose 
holiness,  grace,  justice  and  benevolence  are  revealed  in  man 
and  the  totality  of  his  history.  It  points  not  to  an  unknorv- 
able  God,  hidden  in  the  mists  of  phantasts  or  the  sophistries 
of  unripe  thinkers.  It  points  to  "  thy  Lord,"  the  omnipres- 
ent and  ever-living  God  of  Israel,  whom  we  see  perpetu- 
ally in  his  works,  hear  forever  in  his  words,  in  all  wTords 
of  genuine  intelligence ;  who  is  in  us,  with  us,  about  us, 
everywhere,  whom  we  seek,  feel,  conceive,  know  and  wor- 
ship ;  after  whom  we  yearn,  long  and  pant  in  life  and  death ; 
of  whom  we  are,  and  in  wThom  we  live  forever ;  "  thy  Lord," 
who  is  providence,  ruler,  preserver  and  Father,  the  cause 
and  the  law,  the  substance  and  the  harmony,  in  me  and  in 
all,  gracious,  just  and  true  forever. 

Next,  the  motto  on  our  keystone  points  to  the  only  means 
of  placing  man  in  perpetual  communion  with  the  Eternal 
God,  of  uniting  the  individual  spirit  to  the  universal  spirit ; 
its  name  is  Love.  "  Thou  shalt  love  God  thy  Lord."  To  love 
God  is  human  perfection.     To  love  God  means  to  be  united 


—  212  — 

with  him.  To  love  God  signifies  to  have  entered  the  portals 
of  heaven  and  to  live  in  the  Father's  glorious  presence,  in 
bliss  everlasting  and  unalloyed.  To  love  God  means  in  love 
to  be  God-like.  Then,  our  motto  tells  us  how  to  live,  how 
to  practice  this  great  lesson,  in  order  to  reach  this  human 
perfection,  this  undisturbed  and  unalloyed  bliss. 


Man  is,  in  the  first  place,  an  emotional  being.  He  has 
instincts  and  passions,  propensities  and  inclinations,  which 
become  feelings,  desires  and  volitions.  Without  the  emo- 
tions, and  the  effects  they  produce,  man  could  not  be  man ; 
he  must  be  either  angel  or  rock.  They  are  the  mainsprings 
of  his  earthly  enjoyment,  pleasure  and  happiness;  in  them 
the  cause  of  self-preservation  rests,  and  from  them  the 
impulses  to  intellectual,  ethical  and  religious  ideas  and 
ideals,  seeds  and  deeds  issue,  as  the  sweetest  scent  of  odor- 
iferous flowers  depends  on  the  roots  imbedded  in  vulgar  soil. 

Man's  emotions  may  be  naturally  kind,  generous  and 
noble,  as  I  believe  they  are ;  they  may  be,  as  the  ancients 
personified  them,  the  Yetser  Hat-tob,  "a  good  genius,"  to 
make  of  one  a  nature's  nobleman  or  a  noble  woman.  Such, 
however,  is  the  influence  of  society,  the  force  of  ungoverned 
passions,  and  the  delight  in  their  frequent  gratification,  that 
abuse  and  misuse  violate  the  Creator's  law,  and  disturb  the 
beautiful  harmony.  The  main-springs  of  enjoyment,  pleas- 
ure and  happiness  are  violently  turned  into  abject  sources 
of  misery  and  wretchedness,  to  clog  the  intelligence  and 
to  benight  the  religious  and  ethical  nature  of  man ;  the 
servant  is  elevated  to  the  master's  place,  and  brutalized  man 
loses  his  freedom,  nobility,  dignity  and  happiness,  and  the 
emotions  have  become,  as  the  ancients  personified  it,  a  Yetser 
■Ha-rah,  "  an  evil  genius,"  which,  as  they  say,  is  also  Satan, 
the  demon  which  hinders  man  from  doing  good  and  being 
true;  Semael,  who  poisons  human  nature  with  wicked- 
ness and  corruption ;  and  the  Malach  Ham  Maveth,  "  the 
demon  of  death,"  to  finish  his  own  work  of  destruction. 
Judaism  knows  of  none  besides  this,  personified  Satan,  which 


213  — 


is  a  mere  personification.    In  human  nature,  these  two  demons 
have  their  latent  existence  in  perpetual  combat  for  prepon- 
derance   and  dominion,  and  man's  will  decides  which  shall 
reign  and  which  obey.     What  supports  the  will  in  regulating 
the   passions    and    emotions   correctly?     Which    particular 
force  has  the  Creator  bestowed   upon  the  human   being  to 
govern  his  emotional  nature?  "Love,"  our  divine  motto  replies 
—love,  the  most  powerful  of  all   emotions,    must   regulate 
and  govern  them.     Develop,  strengthen  and  invigorate  this 
passion  of  passions  in  your  family  relations  first,  then  grad- 
ually extend   it   to   your   fellow-man,   to   all   the   children 
of  nature,  to  nature  itself,  to  nature's  Lord  and  Maker,  to 
embrace  all,  which  is  to  possess  all,  in  expanded  and  invig- 
orated  love.     "Love    God,  thy  Lord,  with   all   thy  heart," 
with  all  passions,  emotions,  feelings,  desires  and  volitions, 
regulated  and  governed  by  the  mighty  passion  of  immortal 
love,  expanded  and  extended  to  all  of  God's  creatures  and 
creations,  and  culminating  in  himself;  that  is  the  omnipo- 
tent guardian  angel  of  the  emotional  man,  with  his  Yetser 
Hat-tob  and   Yetser  Ha-Rah,  to  protect,  elevate  and  perfect 
him  as  man  made  in  the  likeness  of  his  Creator. 

Let  all  your  emotions  be  under  the  control  of  love,  our 
sacred  motto  teaches,  and  this  will  lead  you  upward  to 
human  perfection,  to  love  God,  your  Lord,  with  all  your 
heart.  Whatever  idea  or  ideal  one  may  have  of  his  God, 
he  is  always  his  Lord,  his  highest  idea  and  ideal;  love  God, 
thy  Lord,  with  all  thy  heart,  always  remains  the  standard 
of  the  ethical  perfection  of  the  emotional  man. 

Brethren,  let  this  temple,  first  and  foremost,  inspire  your 
hearts  with  love— love  to  God  and  man,  love  to  nature  and 
nature's  God,  and  it  has  become  your  guardian  angel.  Dedi- 
cate it  with  the  love  of  your  hearts,  and  it  is  holy  to  man, 
sacred  to  Israel,  and  consecrated  to  the  Eternal  God,  whom 
thou  shaltlove  with  all  thy  heart. 


Man  is  an  intellectual  being.     He  ate  of  the  fruit  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  and  the  name  of  that  tree  was  intelligence, 


—  214  — 

and  the  name  of  the  fruit  thereof  was  self-consciousness ; 
and  the  man  ate  thereof  and  lost  his  innocence  and  his 
paradise,  for  he  was  a  child  no  more,  no  longer  did  he  live 
the  life  of  thoughtless  security  in  emotional  impulses  and 
blissful  enjoyment,  his  eyes  were  opened  and  he  saw  himself 
nude.  He  thought,  he  reflected,  and  his  paradise  was  gone. 
"  With  wisdom  vexation  grovveth,  with  knowledge  affliction 
increaseth." 

And  yet  man  could  not  be  man  and  remain  a  child.  True, 
the  days  of  childhood  are  paradisian,  and  the  years  of  matu- 
rity full  of  vexation,  trouble  and  disappointment,  unknown 
to  blissful  ignorance;  yet  man  would  not  be  man  without 
his  intelligence,  mankind  would  not  have  reached  the  high 
position  of  the  civilization,  freedom,  enlightenment,  knowl- 
edge and  dominion  which  are  the  boast,  pride  and  wealth 
of  the  nineteenth  century.  He  who  sees  the  end  of  every- 
thing in  its  first  thought,  all  phases  of  being  in  their  ideal 
state,  he  who  is  our  Maker  and  our  guardian  forever,  must 
have  willed  it  so  that  man  should  make  proper  use  of  his 
intelligence,  as  well  as  of  every  other  capacity  or  ability 
bestowed  on  him. 

Intelligence,  like  love,  is  a  divine  power  in  man,  and,  like 
every  other  gift,  it  may  be  used  well  and  properly  to  the  bless- 
ing of  man  and  mankind,  or  abused  and  misused  to  the  mis- 
ery and  affliction  of  both.  Intelligence  in  covenant  with  love, 
love  in  harmonious  union  with  intelligence,  disarm  the 
Cherub,  with  the  flaming  sword,  guarding  the  gate  of  Eden, 
and  open  wide  the  portals  of  paradise  to  God's  intelligent 
children.  The  heartless  and  unfeeling  savant  is  no  less 
brutal  than  the  deteriorated  savage.  The  loving  and  vision- 
ary phantast  is  no  less  mischievous  than  the  cold,  selfish 
and  calculating  sage.  The  former  is  half  man  and  half 
devil,  the  latter  half  woman  and  half  statue ;  only  half,  and 
Sacred  Writ  commands,  "  Thou  shalt  be  perfect  with  God, 
thy  Lord."  Those  who  are  led  astray  by  their  intelligence  to 
self-corruption,  the  violation  of  sacred  duty,  the  destruction 
of  human  happiness,  the  perversion  of  truth,  the  detriment 
of  human  rights,  and  love  none  and  nothing  except  their 


—  215  — 

Own  dear  selves,  are  no  less  miserable  and  wretched  than 
those  who  are  slaves  of  savage  propensities  and  groan  under 
the  heavy  yoke  of  triumphant  passion ;  or  those  who  are 
always  under  the  iniluence  of  phantasmagorias  to  be  forever 
displeased  and  disappointed,  because  they  would  not  listen 
to  reason's  warning  voice.  Those  who  live  in  superstition, 
land  in  fanaticism;  those  who  deny  God,  dread  the  devil. 
The  emotional  man  is  a  ship  without  a  rudder ;  reason  a 
rudder  without  a  ship.  Love  is  a  benign  moon  to  the  lonely 
traveler;  intelligence  is  a  majestic  sun  to  furnish  attraction, 
light  and  life.     They  must  never  be  separated. 

Here  again  our  saered  motto  speaks  words  of  divine 
wisdom  :  "  Thou  shalt  love  God,  thy  Lord,"  not  only  with 
all  thy  emotions,  with  all  thy  heart,  but  also  "  with  all  thy 
soul,"  with  all  thy  intelligence.  Like  the  emotions,  the 
intelligence  must  center  in  love.  Your  love  shall  be  intelli- 
gent,  and  your  intelligence  wedded  with  love.  Like  your 
love  your  intelligence  shall  expand  and  extend  to  all  objects 
within  your  horizon,  to  land  and  sea,  to  heaven  and  earth,  to 
past,  present  and  future.  Nothing  shall  prevent  you  from 
knowing  and  understanding  all  which  is,  was  or  will  be.  There 
shall  be  no  limit  to  your  reason,  and  no  boundaries  to  your 
understanding.  Seek,  inquire,  search,  grasp  and  comprehend 
all  you  possibly  can  ;  be  the  wisest  of  men  and  the  most  intel- 
ligent of  nations ;  be  not  frightened  from  the  path  of  reason 
by  the  superstitions  of  the  foolish  or  the  errors  of  the  wise ; 
rather  avoid  error  and  evade  folly.  God  has  not  given  you 
this  divine  gift  of  intelligence  to  be  overawed  by  supersti- 
tion, clogged  by  despotism,  silenced  by  fear,  or  deadened  by 
priestcraft.  He  has  given  you  intelligence  to  use  it  wisely, 
fully  and  perpetually ;  but,  for  the  sake  of  your  life  and 
happiness  here  and  hereafter,  use  it  properly  in  union  and 
consonance  with  love,  goodness,  benignity,  virtue,  purity, 
and  upright  humanity.  For  the  sake  of  your  life  and  hap- 
piness here  and  hereafter,  never  lose  sight  of  the  objective 
point,  the  real  aim  of  all  reason,  intelligence,  understanding, 
wisdom,  learning  and  intellectual  glory,  which  is  to  know 
God  and  to  be  united  to  him  by  this  knowledge,  to  know  God 


—  216  — 

in  your  love  and  with  all  your  wisdom,  to  possess  him  and 
to  be  in  him.  This  must  be  the  guide,  the  path  and  the 
light ;  whoever  leaves  it  runs  into  error,  misery  and  self- 
destruction.  The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning  of  and 
the  impulse  to  all  wisdom  ;  to  know  him,  to  love  him,  with 
all  the  heart  and  with  all  the  soul,  is  wisdom's  perfection, 
beyond  which  there  is  none — is  happiness  everlasting,  is 
human  perfection  and  human  greatness,  beyond  which  no 
mortal  can  proceed. 

Brethren,  dedicate  this  temple  as  a  home  of  intelligence 
and  truth,  wedded  with  love  and  benignity,  and  it  will  be 
a  temple  in  Israel,  holy  to  the  God  of  Israel,  as  was  Solo- 
mon's gorgeous  sanctuary  on  Mount  Moriah.  Think  of  God 
and  his  greatness,  think  of  God's  love  in  true  devotion,  and 
this  temple  is  consecrated  to  God  and  truth,  to  love  and 
intelligence,  to  human  happiness  and  life  everlasting. 


As  you  all  know,  some  modern  doctors  maintain  that  the 
animal  also  possesses  love  and  intelligence ;  only  that  it  is 
not  human  love  and  intelligence,  I  feel  compelled  to  add, 
is  not  manifested  either  in  human  words  or  human  deeds, 
and  without  the  manifestation  we  have  no  knowledge  of 
the  existence  of  a  force.  Besides,  human  love  and  intel- 
ligence are  characterized  by  ideality.  Man  is  inventive, 
creative;  he  conceives  ideals  spontaneously;  he  has  ideal- 
ity and  the  genius  to  realize  these  ideals  in  words,  music, 
motion,  paintings,  statuary  and  architecture.  This  building, 
like  all  others,  was  first  an  ideal  in  the  architect's  mind,  and 
became  then  a  reality  by  the  artisan's  work.  No  animal  has 
ever  put  into  execution  any  of  its  ideals,  because  it  never  had 
any. 

Ideality  is  the  word  which  chiefly  designates  human  supe- 
riority above  all  sublunar  creatures.  He  alone  possesses 
ideality,  invents,  creates,  and  looks  far  beyond  all  realities; 
neither  one  nor  all  of  them  will  satisfy  him,  because  his 
ideals  are  higher,  and,  in  many  instances,  much  higher  than 
the  realities.     Ideality  is  not  only  the  mother  of  religion, 


—  217  — 

the  cause  of  progressive  ethics,  the  guarantee  of  immortality, 
the  progenitor  of  art,  the  lever  of  industry,  and  the  first 
cause  of  all  progressive  civilization  ;  it  is  more,  infinitely 
more  than  all  that;  it  is  the  perpetual  impulse  in  the 
human  mind,  compelling  it  onward,  forward  and  upward,  to 
reunite  with  the  Eternal  Deity,  if  we  only  correctly  under- 
stand and  properly  use  this  heavenly  gift.  But,  afas  !  it  is 
only  too  often  abused  by  want  of  love,  lack  of  intelligence, 
or  both. 

The  miser  also  possesses  ideality,  but  it  is  led  into  the 
wrong  channel.  Mammon  is  his  God,  and  wealth  for  its 
own  sake  is  his  ideal,  which  makes  him  and  others  miser- 
able, and  perverts  his  nature.  The  over-ambitious  man, 
greedy  for  reputation  or  notoriety,  fame,  vain-glory  and  false 
honor,  for  reward  without  labor,  and  glorification  without 
merit,  also  possesses  ideality;  the  envious,  the  avaricious, 
the  man  jaundiced  with  morbid  jealousy,  the  despot,  the 
conqueror,  the  fanatic,  or  the  proud  chief  of  a  band  of 
bandits,  each  and  all  of  them,  possess  ideality,  but  their 
ideals  are  satyrs,  demons,  devils,  void  of  love  and  true  intel- 
ligence :  human  nature  is  perverted,  shorn  of  its  glory, 
stripped  of  its  nobility,  dragged  into  the  quagmire  of  the 
lowest  passions,  from  which  dark,  dismal  and  distorted 
phantasmagorias  rise ;  the  mind  is  sick,  its  ideality  obscured, 
and  its  ideals  are  fata  morgana. 

Therefore,  our  divine  motto  commands  that  not  only  thy 
emotions  and  intelligence,  but  also  thy  ideality  shall  be  guided 
and  controlled  by  this  one  great  and  glorious  principle,  by 
the  eternal  love  to  the  Eternal  God.  This  must  be  the  touch- 
stone for  all  your  ideals,  their  perpetual  moderator  and  gov- 
ernor. They  must  be  in  perpetual  harmony  with  this  divine 
love,  in  order  to  lead  you  onward,[  forward  and  upward  to 
your  destiny — onward  to  the  human  family  and  upward  to 
God ;  love  to  the  Most  High  be  the  controlling  power  of  your 
emotions,  intelligence  and  ideality.  So  man  reaches  human 
perfection  and  happiness. 

Me'od,  as  the  Hebrew  text  has  it,  signifies  something 
exceeding,  beyond  and  above  all  things  known,  and  being 


—  218  — 

the  last  of  the  three  terms  used  in  this  connection,  it  signi- 
fies something  higher  than  intelligence,  which  can  be  ideality 
only,  as  it  corresponds  to  all  these  significations  in  this  con- 
nection. "Thou  shalt  love  God,  thy  Lord,  with  all  thy 
heart  (emotions),  with  all  thy  soul  (intelligence),  and  with 
all  thy  might  (ideality),"  whigh  is  the  highest  might  in  the 
human  mind,  all  of  which  must  be  controlled  by  man's  love 
to  God,  the  Most  High.  This  is  the  path  of  life  and  light  to 
human  perfection  and  happiness,  which  all  religions  must 
adopt,  all  philosophies  indorse,  all  true  codes  of  ethics  and 
law  must  reduce  to  practice.  This  is  the  keystone  inscrip- 
tion in  Israel's  ancient  temple.  Time  can  not  efface  it,  intel- 
ligence can  not  overlook  it,  all  progressions  of  all  sciences 
and  philosophy  can  not  improve  it.  The  arm  of  eternal  and 
supreme  wisdom  has  impressed  it  on  the  rock  of  ages ;  no 
man  can  go  beyond  it.  , 

Brethren,  let  us  consecrate  this  holy  structure  with  the 
deathless  words  of  eternal  wisdom  :  "  Hear,  O  Israel,  God  is 
our  Lord,  God  is  One  " ;  there  is  none  besides  him.  "  And 
thou  shalt  love  God,  thy  Lord,  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all 
thy  soul  and  with  all  thy  might  " ;  there  is  nothing  above  it. 
Here  all  human  wisdom  ends,  and  here  divine  wisdom 
begins.  Brethren,  let  us  dedicate  this  house  as  a  temple,  a 
sacred  shrine  forever,  of  these  sublime  and  glorious  truths. 
Love  be  the  glory,  the  shekinah,  of  this  house ;  love  to  the 
Eternal  God  be  the  fire  from  heaven  to  consecrate  your 
emotions,  intelligence  and  ideality  whenever  you  enter  into 
this  holy  place.  So  may  the  Almighty  be  worshiped  for- 
ever; so  may  his  children  be  enlightened  and  blessed:  so 
may  God's  glory  be  enthroned  in  this  house,  in  this  con- 
gregation, in  your  hearts  and  your  souls  forever  and  aye. 
Amen. 


THE  FOURTH  OF  JULY. 


BY  ISAAC  M.  WISE. 


Text  -"  Then  a  spirit  took  me  up,  and  I  heard  behind  me  a  voice  of  a  great 
rushing  (saying),  Blessed  be  the  glory  of  the  Lord  from  his  place. "-[Ezek.  in.  12. 

The  Prophet  Ezekiel  broaches  the  profound  secret  of 
prophecy,  how  a  man  becomes  a  prophet;  how  the  soul 
reaches  that  higher  state  of  intellectual  ,  existence  wherein 
it  can  listen  to  the  direct  communication  from  on  high, 
and  understand  it  intuitively.  "  Then  a  spirit  took  me 
up ;  "  the  spirit  bore  him  aloft,  says  the  prophet ;  then  he 
heard  and  saw  that  which  he  could  not  hear  nor  see  before. 
As  long  as  the  mind  is  subject  to  the  dominion  of  the 
lower  passions,  it  beholds  and  unravels,  as  the  captive  from 
his  subterranean  cell,  only  that  which  lies  low  in  the  same 
leVel_that  which  gratifies  and  intensifies  the  passions. 
Rising  higher,  the  mind  sees  more ;  rising  highest,  sees 
most.  When  the  mind  has  that  power  that  governs  and 
lilts  up  the  soul-man,  as  the  prophet  says  of  himself,  u  And 
then  a  spirit  took  me  up,"  then  man  may  be  a  prophet, 
conceiving  directly  the  will  and  law  of  the  Most  High. 

Words  and  laws  are  latent  deeds— actions  in  the  abstract : 
deeds  are  concrete  laws— words  which  have  become  flesh. 
History  is  the  Bible  of  deeds.  When  we  have  before  us  the 
words  of  great  men,  we  try  to  imagine  how  high  the  one  or 
the  other  was  lifted  up  by  the  spirit,  and  we  call  that  alti- 
tude his  greatness.  If  we  have  before  us  laws,  we  measure 
the  greatness  of  the  lawgiver  by  the  same  gauge.  In  the 
history  of  this  day,  the  Fourth  of  July,  when,  in  1776, 
American  independence  was  made  a  fact  in  history,  we  have 
before  us  a  deed  to  be  measured  by  the  same  scale. 

Between  two  and  three  millions  of  human  beings,  by  no 


—  220  — 

means  united  in  their  political  opinions,  and  scattered  over 
a  vast  territory  from  Georgia  to  Maine,  and  as  far  west  as 
Central  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  without  any  of  the  modern 
facilities  of  communication,— these  few  and  widely  scattered 
men  took  it  upon  themselves,  in  the  face  of  the  mighty 
Empire  of  Great  Britain,  to  declare  the  independence  of  this 
continent  forever.  It  looks  mythical,  sounds  almost  fabu- 
lous now  to  contemplate  it,  although  it  is  only  ninety-eight 
years  to-day  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  signed 
in  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  Since  the  days  of  the  Macca- 
bees, history  offers  no  parallel  to  this  heroic  resolution.  How 
could  a  handful  of  men,  representing  a  divided  and  pow- 
erless people,  strike  so  high?— how  could  they  resolve  upon 
so  daring  a  deed,  which  was  to  revolutionize  all  existing 
forms  of  government  and  open  a  new  era  in  the  world's 
history?  If  any  one  of  those  sires  who  set  their  signatures 
to  the  immortal  instrument  could  speak  now,  he  would 
answer  in  the  very  words  of  the  prophet :  "  Then  a  spirit 
took  me  up."  They  saw  and  felt,  they  understood  and  set 
forth  in  plain  language,  that  certain  things  were  wrong,  un- 
j  list,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  G  od  and  man.  They  felt  the  duty 
of  asserting  the  rights  of  man,  of  appealing  to  the  Divine 
Author  of  these  rights  for  redress,  and  in  raising  the  banner 
of  independence  to  redress  these  wrongs  forever.  Being 
borne  up  by  the  spirit  to  believe  firmly  in  their  rights, 
and  to  confide  implicitly  in  Him  who  gives,  protects  and 
executes  them,  they  felt  in  themselves  the  power  to  strike 
high,  regardless  of  consequences,  and  to  perform  a  task  which 
will  forever  elicit  the  admiration  and  gratitude  of  all  good 
men.  High-minded,  or  high  in  mind,  are  the  Anglo-Saxon 
terms  to  name  the  state  of  the  soul  under  the  influence 
which  the  prophet  describes,  "  Then  a  spirit  took  me  up." 

So  history  is  made  according  to  the  will  of  Providence. 
Man  is  conscious  of  wrongs  or  evils  existing,  and  he  attempts 
to  redress  them,  to  remedy  them.  He  sees  that  certain  ideas 
are  beneficial  and  to  the  blessing  of  man.  and  he  seeks  to 
realize  and  enforce  them.  He  can  not  go  beyond  this.  His 
consciousness  reaches  no  further :  his  reason  can  not  pen- 


—  221  - 

etrate  into  the  future  and  the  combinations  characterizing  it. 
But  those  who  do  either  are  men  lifted  up  by  the  spirit.  Per- 
sons who  worship  their  own  interests,  live  in  the  narrow  circle 
of  their  lower  passions,  seek  gratification,  pleasure,  wealth, 
rank,  fame,  or  the  thin  veil  of  false  pride  and  fading  vanity, 
thinking  only  of  themselves  and  for  themselves,  they  will 
never  be  lifted  up  by  the  spirit  which  they  enslave ;  they 
never  feel  the  necessity  of  righting  wrongs,  remedying  evils, 
or  redressing  the  wounds  of  humanity.  Such  men  do  not 
make  history ;  they  place  obstacles  in  the  path  of  progressive 
humanity,  which  good  and  high-minded  men  must  remove 
that  history  can  take  its  course.  Those  men,  however, 
who,  careless  of  consquences,  fearless  of  probable  results, 
heedless  of  their  own  interests,  safety  or  condition,  seek  to 
overcome  existing  evils  and  to  replace  them  by  what  is 
right  and  good  and  a  blessing  to  the  largest  number  of  hu- 
man beings,  as  those  sires  have  done  who  sent  forth  the 
Declaration  of  Independence, — those  are  prophets  in  deed,  as 
the  prophets  of  the  Bible  are  prophets  in  words.  All  of  them 
are  men  whom  the  spirit  has  lifted  up  high  above  the  little- 
ness of  every-day  life,  high  above  the  small  selfishness  of 
little  creatures,  who  are  to  themselves  all  in  all ;  above 
dwarfs  and  pigmies,  whose  world  is  no  larger  than  a  dollar , 
and  whose  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  few  rays  of  their 
obscure  selves.  Those  high-minded  men  see  a  world  of  life 
and  love  around  them,  a  world  of  duty  and  conscience  in 
them,  a  world  of  truth,  light,  justice  and  goodness  above 
them ;  they  are  great,  and  everything  about  them  is  wide, 
high,  large  and  grand.  They  are  the  men  whom  the  spirit 
has  lifted  up ;  and  so  we  opine  were  those  who  planned, 
signed  and  executed  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  Those 
are  the  prophets  of  the  Lord,  either  of  words  or  deeds. 

The  prophet  furthermore  tells  us,  when  the  spirit  had 
lifted  him  up,  "And  I  heard  behind  me  a  voice  of  a  great 
rushing."  AVe  can  see  of  God  and  truth  only  that  which  is 
past,  has  transpired,  has  become  a  fact  of  nature  or  history. 
Behind — always  behind  us — we  hear  the  voice  which  we 
understand;  never  before  us.     So  when  Moses   desired  to 


—  222  — 

see  God's  glory,  he  was  placed  in  the  cleft  of  a  rock,  inclosed 
from  all  sides,  and  covered  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord  till  he 
was  passed ;  then,  after  the  Lord  passed,  "  Thou  wilt  see 
behind  me,  but  none  sees  before  me."  As  long  as  events 
transpire  before  our  very  eyes  we  understand  them  not,  be- 
cause we  can  not  penetrate  the  future  to  see  the  consequences 
of  the  events,  and  the  consequences  expound  the  events. 
Those  who  saw  the  lake  which  once  covered  this  Mill  Creek 
valley,  before  the  Ohio  broke  through  yonder  hills,  could 
not  see  or  know  that  under  the  water  a  region  of  land  formed 
to  become  once  the  arena  of  the  city  of  Cincinnati  and  her 
beautiful  environs.  We  who  stand  behind  the  scene  survey 
the  field  now  retrospectively,  and  say,  So  God  worketh  in 
the  silent  deep.  So  is  all  our  knowledge  of  the  footprints 
of  creation  retrospective,  and  the  creative  power  at  work 
right  under  our  eyes— for  creation  never  ceases— escapes  our 
attention  and  evades  the  scrutiny  of  the  best  observer.  We 
hear  from  behind. 

The  same  is  the  case  with  human  deeds,  we  understand 
them  retrospectively  only ;  for  the  great  deeds  are  prolific 
germs  — and  that  is  their  very  greatness  — of  numerous 
events,  all  of  which  combine  into  one  chain  of  facts,  a  unit  in 
themselves,  as  the  coral  reef  contains  many  millions  of  de- 
funct creatures,  and  still  is  one  reef.  Neither  Columbus  nor 
those  who  ridiculed  him,  nor  those  who  supported  him, 
could  form  the  slightest  idea  of  what  the  consequences  of  his 
discovery  might  be.  Those  who  saw  the  first  emigrants  land 
on  the  Atlantic-  shore  of  this  country  could  not  know  how 
God  works  in  the  silent  deep  the  inverted  pyramid  of  events. 
We  hear  from  behind ;  all  our  knowledge  is  retrospective. 

Deeds,  like  prophetic  words,  must  be  expounded  and  ver- 
ified by  the  course  of  events.  When  the  prophecy  came  to 
Abraham,  "And  there  shall  be  blessed  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  by  thee  and  thy  seed,"  there  was  none,  not  even  Abra- 
ham, who  understood  the  import  of  those  words  ;  none  could 
understand  the  three  currents  of  Judaism,  Christianity  and 
the  Islam  to  come  from  that  source,  surround,  water  and 
fructifv  the  world,  and  give  to  history  its  basis  and  char^ 


—  223  — 

acter.  When  the  prophet  announced  the  words  :  "And  God 
will  be  king  over  all  the  earth,  that  day  God  will  be  one,  and 
his  name  one,"  none  could  think  of  the  bare  possibility  of 
the  universal  republic,  the  universal  monotheism,  and  the 
universal  brotherhood  of  man,  speaking  one  language,  in  all 
things  divine,  as  we  see  all  this  approach  now.  Time  ex- 
pounds oracles  as  it  expounds  event  .  The  words  and  deeds 
unconscious  in  speaker  and  actor,  uttered  and  done  on  the 
strength  of  general  principles  and  universal  laws,  of  which 
man  is  conscious,  are  placed  aright  in  the  sublime  conscious- 
ness of  Providence ;  but  we  mortals  see  from  behind,  know 
and  think  retrospectively.  Time  enlightens  us,  whether 
oracles  are  divine  and  deeds  prophetic  and  providential. 

Now,  let  us  step  back  ninety -eight  years  into  Independence 
Hall  of  Philadelphia,  and,  with  the  enlightenment  gathered 
from  ninety-eight  years  of  history,  let  us  look  upon  the 
group  of  men  signing  the  immortal  instrument,  and,  like  the 
Prophet  Ezekiel,  we  will  confess :  "And  I  heard  behind  me 
a  voice  of  a  great  rushing."  Ask  those  sires:  What  are 
you  doing  in  your  solemn  conclave?  And  we  understand 
the  answer  to  be,  "  We  are  laying  the  foundation  for  a 
future  nation  of  forty  millions  of  free  and  independent 
people,  to  become  the  ideal  and  pattern  of  free  government, 
the  palladium  of  liberty,  equality  and  justice,  the  secure 
haven  and  godly  refuge  to  all  men  and  ideas  persecuted 
and  downtrodden  by  wickedness  and  despotism.  We  are 
planting  the  tree  which  is  to  bear  the  fruit  with  the  seed 
therein,  from  which  there  shall  grow  the  French  Revolution, 
the  revolution  of  all  European  institutions,  from  Sweden 
to  Rome,  from  Spain  to  Russia,  overthrow  all  mediaeval 
remains,  conceptions  and  relics,  and  replace  them  by  a  new 
world  of  free  men  and  women.  We  are  destroying  the  old 
prejudices  and  hostilities  of  nation  against  nation,  denomi- 
nation against  denomination,  all  the  prejudices  of  color, 
race,  tongue,  and  former  condition,  and  unfurling  the  banner 
of  the  unity  of  the  human  family  by  and  in  its  ethical  na- 
ture. We  are  inviting  all  nations  and  tongues,  all  races 
and  denominations,  to  meet   on   the   broad  plains  of   this 


—  224  — 

continent,  to  become  better  acquainted  with  one  another, 
to  recognize  the  childhood  and  image  of  God  in  each 
of  his  children,  to  improve,  elevate  and  appreciate  one 
another,  and  establish  the  covenant  of  eternal  peace  under 
the  reign  of  justice,  and  under  the  proud  and  mighty  banner 
of  Liberty."  Now  we  understand  the  mighty  deed  per- 
formed in  1776,  on  the  Fourth  of  July ;  now  we  know  that 
it  was  a  prophetical  and  providential  deed,  which  time  has 
expounded,  and  which  the  future  will  expound  much  more 
clearly.  "  I  heard  behind  me  a  voice  of  a  great  rushing/' 
and  hearing  it  we  admire,  we  look  back  with  proud  gratitude 
upon  the  framers  and  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independ- 
ence ;  hearing  it,  we  kneel  down  in  the  dust  and  worship  the 
King  of  kings,  the  God  and  Father  of  all  his  children,  the 
invisible,  benign  and  eternal  Ruler  of  our  destinies,  whose 
name  be  praised  and  glorified  forever  and  aye. 

What  are  the  words  that  the  prophet  heard,  when  the 
spirit  had  lifted  him  up,  and  he  had  heard  behind  him  a 
voice  of  a  great  rushing?  He  heard  the  words  :  "  Blessed  be 
the  glory  of  the  Lord  from  his  place."  So  we  hear  if  we 
listen.  If  the  spirit  lifts  us  up  into  the  region  of  the  spirit, 
higher  than  our  selfishness,  loftier  than  our  little  interests 
of  every  day  life,  more  eminent  than  the  swamps  of  the 
lower  passions,  and  we  look  attentively  upon  the  divine 
words  and  events,  to  hear  behind  us  the  eternal  voice  of  God's 
revelations  like  thunders  loud,  pleasant  like  melodious  song, 
and  continual  like  the  harmony  of  the  spheres, — then  we 
hear  and  feel  perpetually,  deeply  and  indellibly.  "Praised 
be  the  glory  of  the  Lord  from  his  place."  Only  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  can  be  praised  by  man,  for  God  could  not  be 
revealed  or  expounded  to  human  intelligence ;  his  glory  is 
revealed  in  his  works,  in  the  words  and  deeds  of  his  servants. 
in  the  conscience  and  consciousness  of  man.  The  glory  of 
Lord  only  can  be  praised,  because  the  Hebrew  Baruch,  which 
we  render  to  praise,  or  to  bless,  signifies  growth  and  increase 
of  what  is  good  and  desirable.  God  groweth  not  and  in- 
creaseth  not ;  but  his  glory  may  be  praised  :  it  may  grow  and 
increase  among  men  by  a  better  knowledge  of  his  wonders, 


—  225  — 

wisdom  and  benignity.  The  glory  of  the  Lord  is  praised 
and  Messed  from  his  place,  from  nature's  vast  domain  which 
speaks  with  a  thousand  tongues  of  the  Creator's  wisdom  ;  from 
the  uncountable  millions  of  creatures  which  praise  him  with 
every  instinct  of  their  nature  and  every  breath  of  their  lives  ; 
from  man's  mind,  which  is  the  mirror  of  self-conscious 
Deity;  from  every  place  where  law  is  revealed,  wisdom 
preaches,  love  smiles  or  life  rejoices  in  existence,  the  glory 
of  the  Lord  is  praised. 

The  glory  of  the  Lord,  however,  is  chiefly  praised  and  most 
powerfully  proclaimed  by  great  and  beneficial  deeds  per- 
formed unconsciously  by  good  men,  who  merely  obey  the 
voice  of  duty,  without  knowing  how  great  and  important 
their  deeds  are.  Good  men  listen  to  the  voice  of  duty  :  this 
is  the  law  to  guide  us.  This  obedience  leads  to  the  execu- 
tion of  deeds  which  abound  forever  to  the  blessing  of  man- 
kind. This  is  the  glory  of  the  Lord  revealed  plainly,  clearly 
and  evidently.  No  philosophy  under  the  sun  can  under- 
mine this  great  teleological  truth  laid  down  by  the  prophet 
in  a  brief  passage. 

From  this  standpoint  we  look  back  once  more  upon  the 
Fourth  of  July,  1776.  Those  sires  who  framed  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  simply  obeyed  the  voice  of  duty  to 
the  best  of  their  knowledge,  and  this  is  the  greatest  and  the 
best  man  is  able  to  do  :  he  obeys  the  eternal  law  of  his 
Maker.  Those  sires  could  not  know  the  immense  conse- 
quences of  their  deed  ;  then  God  alone  could  know  it.  They 
worked  out  unconsciously  a  new  scheme  of  salvation  for  the 
entire  human  family.  We  look  with  admiration  and  grati- 
tude upon  those  men,  whom  Providence  has  selected  as 
instruments  of  a  great  work.  But  who  has  done  the  work, 
and  who  does  it  now?  None  in  particular,  but  all  under 
the  guidance  of  Providence.  None  has  done  it,  for  none  was 
conscious  of  the  work  to  be  done ;  and  now  that  we  might 
be  conscious  of  our  destiny,  now  selfish  interests  and  small 
considerations,  political  tricks  and  cunning  falsehoods  have 
more  to  do  with  the  government  of  our  affairs  than  the  voice 
of  duty  and  the   consciousness  of  our  destiny.     Who    has 


—  226  — 

done  and  does  it  now?     None  of  us;  God  has  done  it,  and 
he  does  it  now.     It  is  the  work  of  Providence. 

Therefore,  we  hear  the  same  voice  now,  "  Praised  be  the 
glory  of  the  Lord  from  his  place."  Our  country  and  our 
history  praise  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  The  Fourth  of  July 
praises  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  All  honest  men  who  perform 
conscientiously  their  patriotic  duties  to  obey,  and  merely  to 
obey  God's  law,  praise  the  glory  of  the  Lord.  Yea,  the  very 
fact  that  all  the  cunningness  and  baseness  of  some  of  our 
political  leaders,  all  the  bribes,  embezzlements  and  public 
robberies,  all  the  class  legislation  and  party  favoritism,  all 
the  corruption,  degradation  and  dishonesty  in  some  circles, 
and  all  the  baseness  among  citizens  who  tolerate  and  indorse 
it,  do  not  undermine  our  prosperity  or  check  our  influence 
abroad,  do  not  destroy  our  prospects,  blight  our  hopes  and 
consume  our  strength,  also  praises  the  glory  of  the  Lord,  and 
shows  that  Providence  jealously  watches  over  his  works. 

Let  us,  however,  not  forget  that  God  is  long-suffering  and 
all-just.  Nations  live  and  prosper  on  their  virtues,  and  perish 
and  decay  of  their  own  sins.  While  we  rejoice  and  worship 
before  God  on  this  Fourth  of  July,  let  us  be  grateful  to  our 
Maker  and  mindful  of  his  eternal  laws.  Like  the  fathers 
of  this  republic,  let  us  jealously  guard  the  sacred  boon  of 
liberty  and  equality.  Let  us  be  just  and  upright,  true  to 
honor  and  duty,  in  full  sympathy  with  the  human  family, 
and  in  word  and  deed  let  us  be  free  men  and  women,  let  us 
always  be  borne  aloft  by  the  spirit  to  higher  aims  to  loftier 
aspirations,  above  selfishness,  littleness  and  narrowness. 
Let  us  attentively  listen  to  the  voice  of  God's  revelations 
in  his  works  and  words,  and  let  us  attempt  perpetually  to 
know  and  to  understand  what  the  Lord  thy  God  requireth 
of  thee.  Let  us  live,  feel,  think  and  act  in  obedience  to 
God's  law,  and  always  praise  and  bless  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
from  his  place.     Amen. 


THE  WORD  OF  GOD. 


A   SABBATH  N A HAMOO  SERMON. 


BY  ISAAC  M.  WISE. 


Nahamoo  !  nahamoo,  ammi!  "  Console  ye  my  people."  So 
the  prophetic  lesson  begins,  because  this  Sabbath  follows  the 
ninth  day  of  Ab,  the  day  of  Israel's  mourning  over  the  fall 
of  Jerusalem  and  its  temple.  But  Ave  can  console  those  only 
who  mourn.  This  congregation  mourns  no  longer  over 
events  which  took  place  eighteen  hundred  years  ago— the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  the  destruction  of  the  temple,  and  the  dis- 
solution of  Israel's  political  nationality ;  therefore,  we  can 
not  console,  and  must  select  another  subject  for  our  discus- 
sion. It  is  before  us  in  the  same  chapter  of  the  Prophet 
Isaiah  (xl.  1),  which  opens  with  the  words  spoken — Nahamoo! 

It  is  admitted  that  the  twenty-six  chapters  of  Isaiah, 
from  xl.  to  the  end  of  the  book,  were  written  by  an  anony- 
mous prophet,  the  Hebrew  Demosthenes  of  the  broadest 
cosmopolitan  principles,  who,  seeing  the  downfall  of  Zaba- 
ism,  the  victories  of  Cyrus  and  Darius  the  Mede  over  the 
declining  empire  of  Babylonia,  and  the  approach  of  those 
armies  to  the  ancient  capital  on  the  Euphrates,  called  upon 
his  brethren  dispersed  over  the  East  to  return  to  Palestine 
and  to  build  up  again  a  Hebrew  Empire  on  its  classical  soil, 
and  upon  the  living  principles  of  monotheism  and  its  sub- 
lime ethics.  The  first  speech  of  that  prophet,  from  xl.  1  to 
xli.  17,  is  the  introduction  to  all  the  subsequent  speeches, 
and  lays  down  the  subject  of  his  discussion,  together  with 
the  arguments  in  its  support,  and  the  sublime  theology  and 


—  228  — 

teleology  upon  which  they  are  based.  He  begins  with  the 
main  subject,  announcing  in  terms  of  inspiration  that  Is- 
rael's national  sins  were  expiated,  and  now  highways  should 
be  leveled  through  the  wilderness  for  the  captives  to  return 
home,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  should  appear  over  them 
once  more,  so  that  all  flesh  should  see  that  the  mouth  of  the 
Lord  had  spoken.  This  is  the  main  subject  of  all  the 
speeches  following.  But  right  here,  at  the  very  threshold, 
it  appears  a  number  of  objections  were  raised  to  the  proph- 
et's inspired  message,  and  one  of  them,  it  appears,  was  this : 
All  things  are  perishable;  nations  and  systems  of  religion 
and  government,  like  organic  beings,  are  born,'  grow,  flourish, 
decline,  wither  and  die;  why  should  Israel  only  make  an 
exception  to  this  rule?  Having  existed  nine  centuries  and 
more,  Israel  declined,  withered  and  died  a  natural  death, 
like  empires  much  larger  and  nations  much  more  powerful ; 
why  should  Israel  alone  resurrect  from  his  ruins?  This 
appears  to  be  the  import  of  verses  6  and  7  :  "A  voice  saith, 
Proclaim  !  [call,  announce]  and  it  saith  what  I  should  pro- 
claim :  All  flesh  is  grass,  and  all  its  goodliness  is  as  the 
llower  of  the  field.  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  ; 
because  the  breath  of  the  Lord  hath  blown  upon  it ;  surely 
the  people  is  grass."  Nations,  grass  and  flower  are  subject 
to  the  same  law  of  perpetual  dissolution  which  admits  no 
exception.  Truly,  Israel  was  the  particular  servant  and 
messenger  of  the  Lord,  proclaiming  the  glory  of  his  name, 
the  beauty  and  wisdom  of  his  laws;  but  "  my  way  is  hidden 
from  the  Lord,  and  my  cause  hath  passed  from  the  cogni- 
zance of  my  God"  (verse  27);  there  is  no  justice  in  this 
law  of  perpetual  dissolution,  cognizable  to  man,  and  it  ad- 
mits of  no  exception.  To  all  this  the  prophet  replies,  the 
argument  is  fallacious  in  its  premises  and  conclusions. 
There  are  things  perishable,  and  there  are  things  eternal. 
"  The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth  ;  and  the  word  of  our 
God  will  stand  firm  forever." 

There  is  stability  in  the  back-ground  of  all  these  changes, 
eternal  life  in  perpetual  death ;  there  is  something  imperish- 


—  220  - 

able  in  this  chaos  of  destructive  elements,  and  that  some- 
thing is 

THE  WORD  OF  OUB  GOD. 

It  must  be  said  here  at  once,  that  words  are  articulate 
sounds  expressing  ideas  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  known 
organs  of  speech,  lips,  teeth,  tongue,  gum  and  throat. 
Wherever  there  are  no  ideas  there  are  no  words,  therefore 
animals  speak  no  words  ;  and  wherever  the  organs  of  speech 
are  missing  there  can  be  no  speech  of  articulate  sounds.  God 
is  incorporeal,  hence  he  has  no  organs  of  speech,  and  speaks 
not  in  articulate  sounds  as  man  speaks,  or  in  interjections 
as  animals  do.  He  may  let  thunder,  hurricane  or  cataract 
speak  articulate  sounds,  but  within  the  experience  of  man 
he  has  never  done  so.  When  the  Scriptures  narrate  that 
God  said,  or  God  spoke,  it  must  always  be  understood  that 
he  said  or  spoke  as  God  says  or  speaks,  and  not  as  man  does, 
by  articulate  sounds.  It  is  language  not  bound  to  words 
as  day  speaks  to  day,  as  night  instructs  night,  as  the  heavens 
declare  the  glory  of  God.    It  is  thought  conveyed  to  thought. 

Again  :  God's  speaking  means  creation.  Man  thinks  ideas 
at  certain  intervals,  and  thinking,  he  becomes  conscious  of 
his  self-consciousness,  and  at  such  moments  he  lives  spirit- 
ually. God  is  the  eternal,  infinite  and  uninterrupted  self- 
consciousness.  He  thinks  always  and  continually,  therefore 
he  is  always  conscious  of  this  self-consciousness.  With 
man,  ideas  may  become  creative  in  the  artistic  sense  as  well 
as  in  the  scientific,  when  the  inventive  idea  is  realized  in 
concrete  form;  because  his  is  a  limited  amount  of  power 
connected  with  his  spiritual  existence.  God's  power  being 
as  unlimited  as  his  wisdom,  each  of  his  ideas  is  creative. 
God  thinks  signifies  he  creates,  and  God  creates  signifies  he 
thinks;  thinking  and  creating  are  indentical  in  God.  Man 
thinks  in  words;  the  idea  must  become  word  before  it  is 
identified  with  his  spiritual  self.  The  first  creation  of  the 
thinking  mind  is  always  the  word.  In  imitation  thereof,  we 
speak  of  God's  creation  as  God's  word.  u  He  said,  and  it 
was ;  he  commanded,  and  there  it  stood."     "  By  the  word 


—  230  — 

of  the  Lord  the  heavens  were  made."  Therefore,  in  the  first 
chapter  of  Genesis,  "  God  saith";  and  the  ancient  rabbis 
properly  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  in  the  record  of  crea- 
tion it  is  repeated  ten  times,  "  God  said."  The  word  has  not 
become  flesh  ;  but  the  thought  has  become  the  cosmos.  All 
that  is,  was,  or  will  be  in  the  universe,  from  the  crystal  to  the 
sun,  the  infusiorium  to  the  Hashmal— each  is  a  word  of  God, 
all  is  "  the  word  of  God,"  the  only  logos  of  which  we  can 
form  a  conception  worthy  of  a  Deity.  The  facts  of  creation 
are  the  Creator's  dialectics  :  the  world  is  God's  real  dialectics. 

Whatever  is,  was,  or  will  be,  crystal  or  infusorium,  earth 
or  sun,  fly  or  Hashmal,  must  have  eternally  had  ideal  exist- 
ence in  God  before  it  assumed  real  existence  in  the  cosmos ; 
and  after  it  passes  away  from  the  material  realities  it  must 
remain  forever  and  aye  a  fact  in  the  eternal  memory  of  the 
Almighty.  No  material  is  lost  in  nature  although  it  under- 
goes perpetual  changes.  No  idea  can  be  lost  in  Supieme 
Wisdom,  however  often  it  may  pass  through  the  transition 
from  ideality  to  reality  or  vice  verso.  Whatever  is,  is  imper- 
ishable in  its  elementary  material  and  its  ideal  existence. 
All  things  rest  forever  in  the  bosom  of  eternity,  in  the  wis- 
dom of  the  Almighty.  "  And  the  word  of  our  God  will  stand 
firm  forever,"  however  the  grass  withers  and  the  flower  fades. 

So  the  prophet  refutes  the  premises  in  the  argument  held 
up  against  his  message.  You  say  change,  dissolution  and 
revolution  mark  the  law  of  nature  :  whatever  is  must  perish ; 
I  say,  so  it  appears  only  to  the  superficial  observer,  but  it  is 
not  so  in  truth  and  reality.  All  these  changes  are  evolutions 
around  the  firm  axis  of  stability,  immortality  and  eternity. 
Whatever  is,  is  imperishable  in  reality  or  ideality,  in  the 
body  or  in  the  spirit;  therefore,  he  argues,  further  on  (verse 
26 )  :  "  Lift  up  your  eyes  on  high,  and  see  who  created  these  " 
|  worlds).  There  is  eternal  revolution  and  order,  appearing 
and  disappearing;  still  each  girded  with  power.  kt  Not  one 
escapeth,"  none— nothing  is  lost.  The  word  of  God  will 
stand  firm  forever. 

Here  we   pause  for  a  moment  and  ask:  Why  not  I?     If 
nothing  can  be  lost,  why  should  I?     If  all  things  are  present 


—  231  — 

forever  in  God's  eternal  self-consciousness,  how  could  I  es- 
cape it  for  one  moment  of  eternity?  The  things  which 
think  not  and  feel  not  and  know  not  and  love  not  are  imper- 
ishable; and  I  who  think  and  feel,  know  and  love,  who  am 
conscious  of  all,  and  think  of  God  and  universe,  kneel  in 
the  dust  before  my  Maker,  and  identify  myself  in  contem- 
plation and  prayer  with  the  Great  I  Am, — how  could  1  alone, 
just  I  among  all  creatures,  be  perishable?  And  also  to  us 
the  prophet  says  :  "The  grass  withereth,  the  flower  fadeth, 
and  the  word  of  our  God  will  stand  firm  forever."  There  is 
no  death  in  God's  universe;  it  is  eternal  birth  in  the  world 
of  reality,  eternal  life  in  the  world  of  spirit.  The  form 
changes,  the  substance  remains  in  God  forever.  What  is 
unconscious  here  is  eternally  conscious  in  God's  self-con- 
sciousness. What  is  self-conscious  here  remains  forever 
a  self-conscious  idea  in  the  eternal  wisdom  of  God.  What- 
ever thinks,  that  is  for  itself,  and  whatever  thinks  not,  that 
is  in  the  self-consciousness  of  another. 

What  has  been  said  already  entitles  us  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  work  of  man,  certainly  no  less  than  the  work  of  na- 
ture, is  the  eternal  word  of  our  God.  Man,  his  intelligence, 
and  its  various  fruits,  can  not  be  imagined  lower  in  the  series 
of  things  than  the  other  individuals  of  organic  or  inorganic 
creation.  If  the  crystal,  the  infusorium,  the  earth,  the  sun, 
is  the  word  of  God,  man  and  his  ideas  must  be.  Therefore, 
here  again  the  same  law  of  perpetual  dissolution  and  eternal 
stability.  Every  page  of  history  speaks  the  language  of 
dissolution.  Wherever  we  look  ruins  meet  our  gaze — 
ruins  of  great  cities,  mighty  castles  and  ancient  bulwarks. 
Wherever  we  go,  we  step  upon  graves — graves  of  individuals, 
graves  of  nations  once  mighty,  prosperous  and  proud.  In 
the  little  history  of  every  person  there  are  plenty  of  graves 
— graves  of  dear  persons,  cherished  hopes,  ardent  wishes, 
intense  desires.  These  ruins  and  graves  demonstrate  the 
law  of  dissolution. 

Yet  nothing  is  lost  that  is  worthy  of  preservaion.  Houses, 
castles  and  cities  are  destroyed  by  the  preying  tooth  of  time, 
but  the  arts  and  sciences  of  architecture  are  retained  in  the 


—  232  — 

memory  of  man,  improved  and  perfected  by  the  work  of  pass- 
in-  centuries.  The  body  perishes,  the  soul  remains.  The 
same  is  the  case  with  all  works  of  genius  and  all  produc- 
tions of  reason.  However  carefully  preserved  they  perish 
at  last,  but  the  ideas  remain  in  the  memory  of  man,  and 
these  are  the  words  of  our  God. 

In  consequence  of  man's  free  volition,  he  is  productive 
of  illogical  ideas;  yea,,  his  reason  recognizes  the  logical 
by  its  contrast  with  the  illogical.  But  the  history  of 
man  is  most  wonderful.  Whatever  is  low,  small,  mean, 
destructive  of  human  prosperity  and  happiness,  contrary 
to  justice,  freedom,  or  the  progress  of  humanity;  however 
mighty  and  prudent  their  representatives  and  exponents; 
however  successful,  feared  and  proud  they  may  be,  it  lasts 
hut  a  -hoit  time,  and  then  they  go  under,  and  their  ideas 
with  them.  History  neutralizes  the  evil  effects  and  buries 
in  oblivion  all  that  is  mean,  injurious  or  wicked,  and  their 
bearers  with  them.  For  a  lew  years  only,  Alexander  the 
Great  could  abuse  his  genius  and  opportunities  to  selfish 
purposes;  then  he  died  in  the  prime  of  life,  and  the  con- 
quered  nations  became  the  conquerors  of  Grecian  culture 
and  letters,  bona;  conquered  and  crushed  down  Judea ; 
but  a  little  while  after  Judea  conquered  Rome,  and  crushed 
out  her  gods,  altars  and  temples. 

Again,  all  that  is  great,  noble,  generous,  sublime  and 
divine  in  man's  words  and  deeds;  whatever  advances  .hu- 
man prosperity  and  happiness,  elevates  man's  character,  or 
fraternizes  the  human  family;  whatever  is  said  or  done  in 
the  service  of  truth,  justice,  freedom,  and  their  advancement 
among  men,  is  faithfully  preserved  in  the  human  memory. 
Their  authors  die,  their  names  are  forgotten  ;  but  their  words 
and  deeds  are  stored  away  in  the  treasury  of  humanity  and 
guarded  jealously  by  a  thousand  different  means. 

Thus  gem  was  added  to  gem,  idea  and  invention  preserved 
ami  increased,  utilized  and  amplified,  until  the  human  fam- 
ily had  amassed  the  wealth  known  now  as  the  civilization 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  with  all  its  arts  and  sciences, 
philosophy  arid   religion,  ethics  and  government,  each  idea 


—  233  — 

of  which  was  once  original  with  somebody,  and  with  him  it 
was  the  word  of  our  God.  For  with  all  our  learning  and 
experience,  we  have  no  means  of  accounting  for  the  rise  of 
original  ideas  in  the  human  mind,  every  original  idea  being 
a  new  creation,  except  the  connection  of  individual  mind 
with  the  universal,  which  is  God,  and  the  perpetual  influx 
of  God's  ideas  into  the  human  mind.  God's  ideas  are  crea- 
tive in  nature  and  creative  in  man ;  they  appear  there  in 
the  form  of  reality  incarnated  in  matter,  and  in  man  they 
appear  in  the  ideal  form,  incarnated  in  words, — the  same 
word  of  God  here  and  there.  Again,  the  matter  in  which 
the  human  ideas  are  realized — houses,  castles,  cities,  works 
of  genius  or  reason,  nations,  forms  of  government,  etc., 
together  with  the  necessary  appendages  of  the  illogical, 
alogical,  mean,  small  and  wicked,  like  matter  and  its  form 
generally,  perish  and  are  perpetually  changed  ;  but  the  word 
of  our  God  shall  stand  firm  forever,  and  not  one  iota  thereof 
is  lost  in  the  memory  of  man.  Here  then  is  immortality 
for  good  and  useful  men  also  in  the  human  family. 

Therefore,  the  prophet  could  refute  also  the  conclusion 
in  the  argument  held  up  against  his  divine  message.  If  all 
that  is  great,  noble,  generous,  sublime  and  divine  is  imper- 
ishable, why  not  also  the  treasures  of  Israel,  his  sublime 
monotheism,  his  grand  scheme  of  ethics  with  God  as  the 
corner-stone  thereof,  his  message  of  freedom,  justice  and 
equality?  If  those  elements  in  general  must  be  called  the 
word  of  our  God,  why  not  Israel's  in  particular?  and  if  this 
word  in  general  can  not  perish — must  outlast  time  itself — 
why  not  also  in  Israel  in  particular?  Nine  hundred  years 
of  history  had  taught  the  lesson  that  in  Israel  the  word 
of  God  lived  prosperously,  the  divine  light  shone  forth 
brightly  and  brilliantly,  while  darkness,  wickedness  and 
absurdity  increased  and  thickened  among  the  Gentiles  ;  and 
yet  the  word  of  God  must  live  forever  in  man,  as  in  nature. 
Therefore,  he  called  back  home  the  children  of  Israel  once 
more  to  build  up  the  empire  of  truth  and  justice,  on  the 
basis  of  one  God  and  one  human  family ;  having  been  the 
vehicle  of  revelation,  why  not  also  the   means  of  preserva- 


—  234  — 

tion?  And  he  was  sure  of  success,  for  the  grass  withereth 
and  the  fldwer  fadeth,  and  the  word  of  our  God  will  stand 
firm  forever.  Therefore,  he  tells  them  further  on  in  his  argu- 
ment (xli.  8-10)  :  "  But  thou,  Israel,  art  my  servant,  Jacob, 
whom  I  have  chosen,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  my  friend.  Thou, 
whom  I  have  taken  hold  of  from  the  end  of  the  earth,  and 
called  thee  from  the  midst  of  its  chiefs,  and  said  unto  thee? 
Thou  art  my  servant,  I  have  chosen  thee,  and  not  cast  thee 
away.  Fear  thou  not,  for  I  am  with  thee;  be  not  dismayed, 
for  I  am  thy  God  :  I  strengthen  thee,  yea,  I  help  thee,  yea,  I 
uphold  thee  with  the  right  hand  of  my  righteousness." 

Yes,  brethren,  let  us  behold  God  in  his  works  and  hear 
him  in  his  words,  in  us  and  about  us.  Let  us  prepare  to 
meet  our  God  and  to  receive  his  word  in  us,  for  the  blessing 
of  humanity,  for  immortality  and  eternal  happiness.  What- 
ever is  godly  is  imperishable,  is  good  and  sublime.  Let  us 
be  forever  faithful  children  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  that  he 
be  revealed  and  his  name  glorified  in  us  by  his  ever-living 
word.      A  men. 


SHEBUOTH. 


A  SERMON  BY  REV.  DR.  D.  EINHORX. 

(Of  New   York.) 


Text.— Ezekiel  xvi.  8-22. 

Among  the  most  striking  pictures  of  the  Bible,  which 
mark  the  covenant  made  by  God  with  Israel  on  Sinai,  is 
the  representation  of  a  betrothal.  It  extols  the  bridal  love 
of  faithful  Israel,  even  as  it  reproaches  the  chosen  people 
for  forsaking  their  God,  and  for  their  adulterous  attachment 
to  the  worship  of  idols.  In  the  books  of  the  prophets 
especially  we  meet  with  this  representation  in  various 
phases ;  but  nowhere  is  this  picture  painted  in  as  brilliant 
colors  as  it  is  in  our  Haftorah. 

You  have  just  heard  the  flaming  words  which  compose 
the  entire  "  Song  of  Songs."  These  words,  with  their  joyful 
and  plaintive  sounds,  must  deeply  affect  us  at  the  consecra- 
tion of  this  happy  band  of  children.  What  hopes  and  fears 
for  the  Jewish  congregation  are  intimately  connected  with 
the  consecration  of  their  offspring,  in  a  time  of  such  wide- 
spread indifference  and  neglect  of  our  sacred  covenant! 
To  each  of  these  little  ones,  God  exclaims  :  "Thy  time  has 
come,  the  time  of  love  for  me,  and  I  will  spread  my  mantle, 
the  Thorah,  about  thee  as  a  protection  against  thy  nakedness 
and  helplessness ;  I  will  solemnly  consecrate  myself  to  thee 
and  make  a  covenant  with  thee  that  thou  becomest  mine. 
I  will  anoint  thee  with  oil,  the  symbol  of  the  light  of  my 
Thorah.  I  will  attire  thee  in  a  splendid  robe  and  will  place 
a  precious  diadem  upon  thy  head."  Surely  every  true  Is- 
raelite asks  himself,  Will  this  promise  of  God  find  a  lasting 
echo  in  their  hearts,  will  their  short  day  on  earth  really  be 
unto  them  a  full  day  of  love  for  God  and  for  their  fellow- 


—  236  — 

men?  Will  the  splendor  with  which  they  attire  themselves 
to-day  adorn  them  until  their  last  breath,  bidding  defiance 
to  every  storm,  or  will  it  be  squandered  for  useless  tinsel, 
for  empty  trifles,  for  that  deceitful  display  for  which  so  many 
so-called  Jews  are  now  sacrificing  their  best  and  most  sacred 
gifts,  in  order  to  stand  exposed  with  all  their  gold  and  silver, 
and  even  then,  when  all  their  bodily  splendor  becomes  food 
for  worms,  to  reject  everything  which  might  serve  them  as 
a  covering  for  their  nakedness? 

My  dear  children,  your  future  and  that  of  Judaism  depends 
on  your  answer  to  this  question,  and  therefore  I  will  now 
speak  to  you  in  particular,  and  to  the  congregation  in 
general,  of  the  way  in  which  God  pledged  himself  to  Israel 
on  Sinai,— of  the  marriage  ceremony,  of  the  marriage  adorn- 
ment, and  of  the  wedding-ring.  I  shall  subsequently  speak 
of  the  marriage  witnesses,  as  well  as  of  the  gradual  elevation 
from  mere  betrothal  to  actual  marriage. 

The  marriage  ceremony  is  clearly  expressed  in  our  text. 
On  the  part  of  God,  it  reads  :  "And  ye  shall  be  unto  me  a 
nation  of  priests,"  and  on  the  part  of  Israel :  "All  that  God 
has  spoken  we  shall  do."  In  this  sacred  marriage  cere- 
mony, introduced  by  the  words,  "Ye  shall  be  unto  me  a 
Segulah  among  the  nations,  for  mine  is  the  whole  earth," — 
the  idea  of  a  national  God  is  excluded.  In  it  is  most 
emphatically  expressed  the  doctrine  that  the  covenant  with 
Israel  is  by  no  means  to  decrease  God's  love  for  the  rest 
of  mankind,  but  by  it  to  procure  the  happiness  of  all  nations. 
Israel  was  appointed  from  the  very  beginning  to  be  the 
priests  of  God,  to  spread  God's  words  unto  every  people,  not  to 
remain  isolated  forever,  not  to  ossify  because  of  aristocratic 
pride,  not  to  cluster  by  themselves  on  the  heights  of  pure 
monotheism ;  but  to  become  the  beacon  light  of  truth  to  all 
nations,  to  carry  before  all  of  them  the  torch  of  morality, 
to  pave  the  way  through  the  heathen  desert  to  the  moun- 
tain of  the  Lord,  and  only  then  to  abandon  willingly  and 
joyfully  its  special  mission  when  this  great  aim  shall  have 
been  fully  realized. 


—  237  — 

We  now  come  to  the  bridal  ornaments,  which  our  prophet 
pictures  in  all  its  Oriental  splendor.  There  are  splendid 
robes,  chains,  bracelets,  ear-rings,  and  a  crown  for  the  head. 
The  robes  indicate  •TJJ1PD  HJQ  the  dress  of  the  priests,  the 
chains  symbolize  Israel's  wonderful  history,  the  ear-rings  and 
the  bracelets  typifying  the  efficient  energy  in  the  struggle 
for  God — the  ready  ear,  the  clear  insight  of  our  prophets  for 
the  religious  needs  of  the  various  ages  :  finally,  the  crown, 
which  symbolizes  The  Decalogue.  The  ceremonial  law  refers 
to  the  priestly  robes  of  Israel.  This  was  not  bequeathed  to 
all  nations,  but  was  given  to  Israel  alone  as  a  sign  of  its 
high  mission.  Its  purpose  is,  partly,  to  separate  the  chosen 
people — living  under  the  sway  of  heathenism — from  the 
abomination  of  the  idolaters  ;  partly,  to  adapt  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Only  One  the  heathenish  forms  of  worship  (as 
has  been  done  in  the  case  of  the  sacrificial  cult),  from 
which  the  old  world  had  not  yet  entirely  severed.  And  also, 
just  as  the  holidays  with  their  various  symbols  have  salu- 
tary effects  upon  our  religion,  so  does  the  ceremonial  law 
aid  in  strengthening  us  in  the  divine  truths,  in  helping  us 
to  remember  the  holy  mission  of  our  race  under  the  direct 
guidance  of  our  God.  This  ceremonial  law  is  by  no  means 
sanctifying  in  itself,  but  it  affords  a  means  of  sanctification, 
It  is  subject,  by  its  very  nature,  to  such  changes  as  are  in 
keeping  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  These  changes  resemble 
those  which  we  experience  daily.  The  influence  of  climate, 
seasons  and  age  necessitate  corresponding  changes  of  gar- 
ments. It  is  an  established  fact  that  the  ceremonial  law 
of  Moses  has  undergone  most  thoroughgoing  changes  during 
the  time  of  the  first  and  second  temple,  as  also  during  all 
the  periods  following  our  expulsion  from  the  holy  land. 
Mankind,  no  matter  what  their  degree  of  culture  and  civili- 
zation, will  always  stand  as  much  in  need  of  ceremonies  as 
it  does  of  language.  These  ceremonies,  however,  must  not 
become  rigid,  nor  must  they  be  suffered  to  remain  thread- 
bare and  dilapidated.  They  must  be  illuminated  by  religious 
thoughts,  they  must  harmonize  with  the  existing  stage  of  the 
religious  development,  they  must  reflect  the  glory  of  Juda- 


—  238  — 

ism,  and  must  keep  pace  with  those  duties  which  are  con- 
tinually required  of  the  chosen  people.  That  religion  which 
has  been  destined  to  assume  the  supremacy  of  the  world, 
must  never  be  permitted  to  walk  about  tattered  and  torn,  or 
turn  its  priestly  garments  into  a  mummer's  garb.  No! 
When  the  urgent  necessities  of  the  time  require  it,  it  becomes 
a  duty  to  stand  prepared  to  reform  religious  ceremonies.  So 
has  it  been  done  by  the  best  and  greatest  men  of  our  history 
— by  our  old  prophets,  who  never  ceased  to  oppose  with 
flaming  words  those  mere  outward  ceremonies,  forms  which, 
when  left  unheeded,  would  tend  to  impair  our  religious  prin- 
ciples. Was  it  their  aim  to  tear  down  and  destroy?  No ; 
they  wished  to  rebuild  the  ruins,  to  save,  to  glorify  the 
internal  life  of  Israel,  to  prevent  those  frivolities  which 
sought  by  means  of  ceremonies  to  cloak  their  vices.  Is  it 
possible  to  kill  those  efforts  for  reform  which  are  now  in 
progress?  Surely  the  death  of  these  reform  movements  is  the 
funeral-knell  of  Judaism ;  and  yet  the  most  bitter  enemies 
of  Judaism  within  and  outside  of  the  fold  of  Israel  are 
incensed  against  reform  because  they  see  in  it,  not  a  glo- 
rious reconstruction  of  the  ceremonies  of  our  religion,  but 
despair  and  death. 

The  chain  typifies  our  history,  in  which  are  linked  together 
most  wonderful  events,  under  Divine  guidance,  encircling 
centuries.  Name  the  historian  who  has  been  able  to  solve 
this  riddle  of  the  wandering  Jew,  this  riddle  of  an  existence 
under  the  oppression  of  countless  years,  and  nameless  suffer- 
ing, and  the  clanking  of  the  chains  of  slavery.  The  nation 
had  no  center ;  it  was  scattered  throughout  the  earth  in  all 
directions,  and,  though  despised  on  all  sides,  its  life  perme- 
ated all  nations ;  it  nourished  the  world  with  its  spiritual 
treasures ;  it  encircled  the  whole  people  of  the  wide  earth  as 
one  endless  golden  chain.  A  nation  it  is,  which,  though  but 
a  mote  among  the  nations,  traces  its  existence  back  into  the 
dim  obscurity  of  antiquity.  This  nation  has  wandered  on 
and  on  to  the  present,  encountering  the  storms  and  hurri- 
canes of  fate,  tossed  hither  and  thither,  yet  is  nevertheless 
closely  linked  together  by  an  impervious  spiritual  chain,  that 


—  289  — 

for  the  very  reason  of  its  dismembered  condition,  became, 
a  bond  of  union  for  all  human  families  by  means  of  its 
Messianic  activity,  and  celebrated  the  proudest  triumph  of 
the  world's  history,  and  still  stands  to-day  full  of  life  and 
vigor,  fighting  for  the  same  glorious  principles.  Such  a 
people  is  a  living  Bible.  If  our  so-called  Jews  knew  more 
of  their  own  history,  they  would  see,  although  they  pos- 
sessed but  a  little  common  sense,  a  golden  chain  which  the 
Almighty  has  lent  as  an  ornament  only  to  that  people 
whom  he  has  selected,  to  be  the  blessing  of  all  mankind,  and 
whom  he  therefore  crowned  on  Sinai  with  a  refulgent  halo. 
There  he  bestowed  upon  them  the  ten  words — the  soul  of  the 
holy  Law,  for  in  them  are  contained  the  eternal  principles 
of  all  true  religion,  all  true  morality  and  all  true  prosperity 
in  individual,  family  or  national  life,  not  for  Israel  alone, 
but  for  all  reasoning  beings  ;  the  doctrine  of  the  one  spir- 
itual, holy  God,  who  hates  oppression  and  recompenses 
every  one  according  to  his  deserts.  This  doctrine,  to  the 
the  rugged  height  of  which  millions  among  the  civilized 
people  of  the  world  have  not  been  able  to  elevate  themselves, 
is  the  foundation-stone  of  all  purely  spiritual  devotion  to 
God,  of  all  self-consecration  in  word,  deed  and  sentiment. 
This  doctrine  inculcates  the  sanctity  of  the  oath  and  of  the 
Sabbath,  the  honoring  of  father  and  mother,  the  inviolability 
of  the  marriage  relations  and  of  all  personal  rights. 

According  to  Moses,  all  human  sanctification  must  be 
patterned  after  Divine  holiness.  From  this  incontestable 
premise  a  new  moral  order  was  deduced  and  inscribed  upon 
the  two  stone  tablets.  Here  is  a  moral  law  which,  through 
Israel,  has  been  recognized  and  submitted  to  by  the  whole 
world.  Do  you  really  think  that  a  moral  order  could  exist 
without  God,  without  a  highest  judge  and  legislator?  Is  not 
that  which  we  call  possession  meted  out  to  us  from  worldly 
possessions?  Whence  shall  we  derive  a  safeguard  from 
communism?  Whence  derive  security  for  our  titles  to  that 
which  we  possess — that  which  is  so  often  not  even  the  fruit 
of  our  own  labor?  Is  wealth  anything  else  than  a  robbery 
of  the  hungry  and  needy?     Is  man   nothing  more  than  a 


—  240  - 

two-legged  creature,  who,  according  to  a  custom  among 
certain  people  when  he  dies,  is  thrown  into  a  pit  as  any 
carcass,  without  a  word  of  prayer  or  consolation?  What 
higher  right  has  man  over  the  animals  in  his  social  rela- 
tions? What  higher  claim  have  you  for  life  and  fame  and 
honor? 

Honor  the  crown  of  Sinai,  0  Israelites  !  instead  of  smiling 
at  those  who  drag  it  in  the  mire.  God  has  placed  a  ter- 
rible responsibility  upon  your  shoulders  in  making  you  its 
hearer.  This  crown  is  the  highest  possession  of  all  man- 
kind. Consider  the  words  of  our  sages.  God  is  said  to 
have  called  unto  Israel  from  Sinai :  ;i  If  you  reject  my  Law 
the  world  shall  sink  into  tohu  vevohu." 

One  gem,  one  precious  gem,  taken  from  this  crown,  must 
be  especially  regarded,  particularly  since  it  is  so  sadly  neg- 
lected,— it  is  the  Sabbath,  the  gem  set  in  the  bridal  ring. 
The  Midrash  (Bereshith  Rabboth,  10),  speaking  of  the 
divine  Sabbath  in  the  history  of  creation,  says  that  the 
creation  resembled  a  ring  of  the  king  of  the  world,  upon 
which  the  seal  was  not  yet  fixed  until  the  Sabbath  made 
the  declaration  of  the  conclusion  of  the  good  work,  and  thus 
set  the  seal  to  the  ring.  The  human  Sabbath  which  was 
thereupon  given  to  Israel  is  represented  as  the  marriage 
ring  itself  of  the  covenant  people,  because  in  the  Scrip- 
tures it  is  called  a  sign  of  the  covenant  between  God  and 
his  people  and  serves  to  teach  that  he  had  consecrated  the 
latter  to  himself.  The  violation  of  the  Sabbath  was  at  all 
times  regarded  as  the  most  definite  evidence  of  the  break- 
ing of  the  covenant.  The  greatest  reformatory  prophets, 
[saiah,  Jeremiah  and  Ezekiel  regard  the  salvation  of  Israel 
as  impossible  without  the  sanctification  of  the  Sabbath,  and 
a<  in  olden  times,  so  to-day  the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath 
if  not  the  result  is  the  source  of  idolatry,  perfect  atheism, 
and  the  deification  of  sensual  pleasures.  Man  needs,  though 
he  stand  ever  so  high,  his  weekly  period  of  rest,  devoted  not 
alone  to  rest  but  also  to  devotion,  in  order  not  to  become 
blunted  in  his  daily  vocation,  not  to  forget  his  loftier  des- 
tiny.    This    evil   has,   at   present,  far-reaching   dimensions, 


—  241  — 

and  it  will  if  unchecked  sooner  or  later  destroy  all  moral, 
fundamental  principles  in  the  individual  life,  as  well  as  in 
the  family  and  in  society. 

Great  is  the  ignorance  of  our  people  in  regard  to  their 
peerless  history  and  world-nourishing  treasures  of  mind,  just 
as  great  is  the  rude  presumption  to  deride  the  highest  ques- 
tions of  humanity,  with  which  the  greatest  minds  of  all 
nations  have  busied  themselves  with  the  profoundest  rever- 
ence. Little  polish  and  a  full  purse  make  now  famous 
philosophers,  ready  to  challenge  the  wisdom  of  centuries ; 
at  the  same  time  theories  are  advanced  that  man  is  nothing 
but  an  animal.  These  theories  are  spread  abroad  by  the 
public  press,  and  are  devoured  with  eagerness,  especially 
by  immature  youth.  There  are  thousands  of  Jews  who 
will  have  nothing  in  common  with  congregations,  and  not 
a  small  number  hurries  every  Sunday  to  those  places  where 
atheistical  poison  is  offered  to  them  in  alluring  cups.  Can 
you  still  doubt  what  the  end  will  be  when  the  great  num- 
ber of  the  members  of  our  congregations  are  continually 
refraining  from  regular  attendance  at  divine  service?  Must 
you  not  admit  that  parents  themselves  are  sacrificing  their 
children  to  the  all-consuming  Moloch — are  denying  them  a 
communion  with  God,  and  are  making  for  them  a  hell  on 
earth  notwithstanding  all  their  vast  worldly  possessions? 
"Change  the  Sabbath  to  Sunday,"  many  exclaim,  "and 
everything  is  safe."  But,  alas !  the  patient  must  needs 
die  by  this  innovation.  Once,  at  a  rabbinical  convention 
at  Breslau,  I  heard  the  following  remark  :  "  The  Sabbath 
could  certainly  be  buried  on  Friday  evening,  but  in  vain 
wTould  we  look  for  its  resurrection  on  Sunday."  This  is 
the  true  state  of  affairs.  Such  resurrection  wrould  require 
the  abilities  of  Elias,  who  was  able  to  revive  the  dead 
child  by  his  divine  fire ;  but  such  fire,  however,  does  not  exist 
in  the  present  generation,  and  least  among  those  who 
clamor  for  this  change,  who  are  desirous  of  bringing 
about  such  a  rent  between  old  and  new  Israel.  Such  a  change 
of  the  bridal  ring  would  appear  to  countless  Jews  who  are 
longing  for  it  only  as  a  renouncement  of  the  God  of  Israel 


—  242  — 

and  a  union  with  Christianity,  and  so  the  faithless  bride 
would  also  quench  the  last  spark  of  the  fire  of  love.  This 
we  can,  should  and  must  do  in  order  to  arrest  the  evil,  viz. : 
introduce  a  monthly  Sunday  divine  service  of  a  non-Sabba- 
tarian character.  Such  a  measure  can  not,  justly,  be  attacked 
from  any  point  of  view  and  will  at  the  same  time  bring  great 
blessing.  Truly,  we  live  in  very  earnest  times.  Unmis- 
takable signs  are  not  wanting  to  prove  to  us  that  we  are 
steering  toward  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah ;  but  there  also 
rise  up  before  us  the  unwished-for  struggles  which'precede 
it,  struggles  between  truth  and  falsehood,  which,  far  worse 
than  the  old  heathenism,  will  desecrate  everything  and  uproot 
the  ideas  of  right  and  morals.  Then  it  is  for  us  above  all  to 
assist  the  old  bearers  of  truth  for  our  God  in  narrow  phalanx 
like  firm  walls,  and  especially  to  array  ourselves  against  the 
traitors  in  our  midst.  Then,  it  is  for  us  to  consecrate  and 
sanctify  our  Sabbaths  and  holidays  to  God  to  protect  our 
families  from  the  great  plague;  also  to  give  the  masses 
instruction  on  week  days,  and  not  to  speak  of  unattainable 
sacrifices,  of  sacrifices  which  our  rich  people  spend  so  will- 
ingly for  their  splendid  palaces,  when  the  great  question  is 
the  support  of  the  foundation  of  Judaism.  Congregations 
that  remain  deaf  to  these  pressing  demands  merit  destruction 
and  God  will  select  other  instruments  in  their  places ;  for 
Israel,  which  has  for  centuries  wandered  in  such  a  wonderful 
and  woful  manner,  can  bear  no  lie;  its  halo  of  splendor, 
which  it  wore  for  so  many  centuries,  bowed  down,  and  yet 
borne  so  proudty  as  a  martyr's  crown,  can  not  fall  from  its 
head.  It  will  come  forth  from  all  these  struggles  victori- 
ous and  triumphant,  its  splendor  only  enhanced  by  the 
combat,  so  that  all  nations  shall  admire  its  beauty  and 
journey  toward  its  light.    Amen. 


